NEW YORK -- Just a couple of days into the seasons second half, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said his team needed to win this one.Fortunately for New York, he had the right men on the mound.Masahiro Tanaka outpitched David Price in their first matchup to win his fourth straight decision, and the Yankees ended Bostons six-game winning streak Sunday night with a 3-1 victory over the Red Sox.I think everybody understood how important it was to win today, Tanaka said through a translator.Starlin Castro keyed New Yorks three-run fourth inning with a double that scored Didi Gregorius from first base, snapping a 10-game drought without an RBI.No. 9 batter Austin Romine lined a go-ahead single with two outs off the glove of diving second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Jacoby Ellsbury added another RBI single off Price, who gave up 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings as the Yankees prevented a three-game sweep.We had to bounce back, Gregorius said. For us, today showed that were fighting.Following a loss on Saturday, Girardi said the Yankees had to turn things around immediately and called Sunday night probably as important (a) game that weve had in July in a long time.New York responded with excellent pitching and a handful of timely hits.When you write up a win for us, this is exactly what we need, Romine said.All-Star slugger Carlos Beltran even called it a must-win game. Well aware he could be an attractive trade target if the Yankees (45-46) decide to sell before the Aug. 1 deadline, Beltran said the current 10-game homestand is important to what the future holds for a lot of guys here.Price (9-7) had only one strikeout following three consecutive outings with 10. Pedroia homered early for Boston, which remained two games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East.Were right in this all the way through the end, manager John Farrell said.Tanaka (7-2) fanned seven with one walk over six innings of three-hit ball in his latest stingy performance on extra rest. Pitching with six days between starts, the Japanese right-hander improved to 6-0 in 11 starts with more than four days off.He is 1-2 with a 5.33 ERA in his other eight games.More rest means more time to sort of get the inflammation out of your body, Tanaka said.Tanaka had Red Sox hitters in baseballs highest-scoring lineup chasing sliders and splitters below the strike zone. He threw just 87 pitches -- but that was all the Yankees needed because their three big bullpen arms were all fresh and ready to go.I thought he gave us everything he had and I thought he aired it out in the sixth inning, Girardi said. We have those three big guys down there for a reason, so Im going to go to them.Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman combined for three hitless innings. Chapman worked the ninth for his 18th save in 19 chances, and the Yankees upped their record to 17-1 when all three pitch in the same game.New Yorks bullpen has thrown 19 straight shutout innings.Boston hasnt swept a series at Yankee Stadium since June 2011, and the Red Sox havent won seven in a row overall since June 1, 2014.Youre the guy who goes out there and doesnt help us win that seventh one, thats tough, Price said.LOOSE WITH THE LEFTIESPrice, who leads the AL with 141 strikeouts, fell to 14-9 in 34 career games (33 starts) against the Yankees -- including 1-2 with a 7.79 ERA during his first season in Boston. The left-hander gave up six hits to left-handed hitters (in 11 at-bats), matching a career high.TRAINERS ROOMRed Sox: RHP Junichi Tazawa (shoulder impingement) threw all his stuff in a 40-pitch bullpen session. But the team would like Tazawa to face hitters in a simulated game -- likely Tuesday -- before activating him from the 15-day disabled list, Farrell said.Yankees: Slumping 1B Mark Teixeira sat out after fouling a ball off his left foot Saturday. He had a CT scan that was negative. Hes just sore, and hell probably be out a few days, Girardi said. Rob Refsnyder played first and went 0 for 3 with a walk. ... C Brian McCann was rested against the left-hander in favor of Romine, even though McCann is 10 for 29 (.345) with three homers vs. Price. Tanaka is 5-0 in six starts with Romine behind the plate.UP NEXTRed Sox: Following a day off, RHP Rick Porcello (11-2, 3.66 ERA) starts Tuesday night at Fenway Park against former Boston RHP Jake Peavy (5-7, 5.09) and the major league-leading San Francisco Giants in the opener of a nine-game homestand. That begins a stretch of 43 scheduled games in 44 days for the Red Sox. Bostons next 20 games are against teams outside the AL East. Farrell said the team thought Porcello would benefit from a few extra days of rest out of the All-Star break.Yankees: RHP Ivan Nova (6-5, 5.18 ERA) will pitch on 10 days rest when he starts the opener of a four-game series Monday night against Baltimore RHP Kevin Gausman (1-6, 4.15). Nova hasnt lasted six innings in any of his past five starts. Joe Caldwell Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Jason Maxiell Jersey . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. https://www.cheappistonsonline.com/ . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Dave DeBusschere Jersey . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Pistons Jerseys China . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. AUBURN, Ala. -- Mustapha Heron had his first career double-double -- 24 points and 10 rebounds -- Danjel Purifoy scored 16 points, and Auburn beat Eastern Kentucky 85-64 Thursday night in a Cancun Challenge game.Heron shouldered the load, but Auburn needed a team effort to keep its season-opening win streak alive.The Tigers led 10-2 but went cold while Eastern Kentucky (1-2) rallied and stayed ahead until two and a half minutes left in the first half. Purifoy hit a 3-pointer amid a 9-2 run and Auburn led 37-34 at halftime.The Colonels (1-2) closed to within 38-39 early in the second half on Jaylen Babb-Harrisons layup. Auburn pulled away on a 15-2 run and led 65-50 after a free throw by Heron and Eastern Kentucky got no closer.Auburns 34.5 shooting percentage in the first period became a scorching 56.7 percent in the second half as the Tigers broke the game open.Theyre a good team, and you cant give a team like that second- and third-chance opportunities, and thats what we did, Eastern Kentucky coach Dan McHale said. We allowed them to impose their will, and they made us pay.The Tigers (3-0) were by propelled by Heron, a freshman, who connected on all eight of his field goal attempts, but only made seven of his 13 free throws.Auburn outrebounded the Colonels 51-30, but made 25 of 41 free throws (61 percent), which helped Eastern Kentucky stay close for most of the game.I thought that we were obviously, our physicality -- the difference between the OVC and the SEC showed up on the boards, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. And obviously we took advantage of some things. I dont think that our offensive execution is not whhat it needs to be.dddddddddddd Were going to spend some time doing a better job with that.Nick Mayo led the Colonels with 22 points and five rebounds, and Dillon Avare added 14 points.THE TAKEAWAYAuburn: The Tigers finish their opening homestand 3-0 and head to Cancun, Mexico, on a roll.Eastern Kentucky: The Colonels drop the first of two games against Power 5 opponents and fall below .500 on the season.HE SAID ITInteresting. Weve struggled from the free throw line and we were shooting great in the preseason and we actually shot more free throws this week than we have in a while. I think Im not going to shoot any more free throws and just let them do it on their own because that could have been an issue in the outcome. -- Auburn coach Bruce PearlMAJOR MILESTONEAuburn guard Ronnie Johnson finished with 13 points, but it was a seemingly meaningless layup midway through the second half that mattered the most. With those two points, Johnson eclipsed 1,000 total points for his career. Johnson, a graduate transfer, scored 697 points in his first two years at Purdue and had 291 at Houston last year.STARTING HOTWith the win, Auburn moves to 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12. Its the second time in 12 years thats happened on The Plains.UP NEXTAuburn travels to Cancun to play Texas Tech on Tuesday for the Tigers first away game, and theyll look to keep Bruce Pearls best start at Auburn going.Eastern Kentucky also plays the Red Raiders in Cancun, but the Colonels take on Texas Tech on Saturday. ' ' '