Yankees rock Buchholz, Red Sox with 14-run, 16-hit attack to avoid sweep

The New York Yankees put an emphatic end to the longest series of the season, rocking Clay Buchholz for 10 runs over 3 1/3 innings en route to a 14-4 drubbing of the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

Buchholz allowed seven runs - six earned - on four hits with two walks in the first, looking anything but the pitcher who threw seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball with nine strikeouts in the season opener. 

Alex Rodriguez broke the contest open with a bases-clearing double to make it a 4-0 game, and Chase Headley and Stephen Drew followed with back-to-back homers to put New York ahead 7-0 after batting around in the first inning. Rodriguez finished the contest 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and four RBIs.

The Yankees continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal, chasing Buchholz with one out in the fourth and ballooning his season ERA to an unsightly 7.84. He exited down 10-3 with a final line that included a pair of walks, three strikeouts and nine earned runs on nine hits.

"I had a whole season like that last year," said Buchholz, whose disastrous 2014 saw the right-hander post a 5.34 ERA across 28 starts.

Headley had three hits and Brian McCann added a homer to fuel the 16-hit barrage and avoid a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium. The team's 14-run effort exceeded its total from the previous three games.

Masahiro Tanaka, meanwhile, struggled to alleviate concerns over the health of his ailing right elbow. The Yankees ace earned his first victory of the season after allowing four runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts across five innings. 

Boston edged the Yankees in the first game of the series, a 19-inning marathon Friday, and followed it up with an 8-4 victory Saturday.