BOSTON — The Yankees had a chance to bury the Red Sox in the standings this month, facing their division rival in back-to-back weeks. They had a 9 1/2-game lead on the Red Sox on June 5, the day before their series at Yankee Stadium last week.

Faced with the prospect of helping his team sweep their archrivals Sunday at Fenway, Red Sox starter Brayan Bello threw out his usual plan of attack and was rewarded with his best start of the season.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora wanted his twin 7-year-old sons to meet the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the biggest star of his team’s AL East foe. “They