Wilyer Abreu recorded three hits while Ceddanne Rafaela and Trevor Story each homered to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-0 win over the visiting New York Yankees on Thursday in the opener of a doubleheader.

Abreu (3-for-4) and Rafaela (2-for-4) each had multiple hits, drove in a run and scored another for the Red Sox (74-72), who took back sole possession of fourth place in the American League East.

Rafaela doubled before padding Boston's lead with his second homer in as many days in the seventh inning. Story cranked a three-run shot to center in the eighth.

Tanner Houck (5-9) gave Boston a much-needed lengthy start, finishing six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts while working around four hits and three walks. He threw 105 pitches.

Less than an hour prior to first pitch, the Red Sox parted ways with chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.

Gleyber Torres had two doubles and joined Oswald Peraza in going 2-for-4 for New York (73-73), which swept a Tuesday doubleheader to begin the four-game set.

Yankees starter Michael King (4-6) had a strong return to New England. The Boston College product scattered six hits, walked one and struck out eight across 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in his first career start at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox got the scoring going in the first inning on Abreu's two-out single that dunked down in left field. Back-to-back singles by Rafael Devers and Justin Turner set the table for the opening run.

Opportunities to extend the lead came up empty. In the third, Rafaela ripped a double off the top of the wall in deep right and Rafael Devers walked, but the inning stalled after a double play ball despite Triston Casas' following base hit.

Houck erased leadoff hits by Estevan Florial and Torres in the first and fourth, respectively.

Another Torres double and a one-out walk to Anthony Volpe in the sixth moved Houck over the century mark on the pitch count, but he remained in the game and escaped the jam even after manager Alex Cora's mound visit.

In the seventh, Rafaela's two-out solo shot just inside Pesky's Pole in right doubled the Boston lead.

An Abreu single and Adam Duvall walk preceded Story's long ball, all with two outs in the eighth.

Following Houck, Garrett Whitlock retired all six batters he faced, and Chris Martin dealt a scoreless ninth working around two hits.

--Field Level Media