BOSTON — The New York Yankees fell to the Boston Red Sox 6-1 on Friday night at Fenway Park, extending their losing streak to two games as Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle dominated the matchup. Tolle limited the Yankees to a single hit over seven innings, retiring 16 consecutive batters to start the game before Spencer Jones broke up the bid for a perfect game with a one-out single in the sixth inning.

Tolle, who previously struck out 11 over six innings in an April win against New York, was even more effective this time around, striking out seven while allowing only two walks across 7 innings. Despite a pair of baserunners in the seventh, the lefty neutralized any threat as the Yankees fell to 48-33 on the season. The team has now lost six of its last nine games.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged the challenge posed by Tolle’s performance. "Good pitcher executing, it can be a tough game sometimes," Boone said. "We just had a hard time to mount anything, but no issue with where our preparation and focus were. We just got beat tonight by him."

The Yankees started the year strong against left-handed starters, posting an 18-6 record. However, they have dropped four of their last five contests against southpaws, including the first two games of this four-game series against the last-place Red Sox, currently 34-46.

Jones, who was given a rare start against a lefty, credited Tolle’s ability to command the strike zone. “[Tolle] did a good job of filling up the zone, getting ahead in the count and then was able to do what he wanted to do with certain pitches,” he said. “Credit to him, he was able to execute and get out ahead.”

The only notable incident of the night occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning when the benches cleared briefly after Will Warren walked Willson Contreras. The walk was an inside pitch to Contreras, who stands close to the plate. Contreras responded by flipping his bat and exchanging words with Warren on his way to first base. Both dugouts and bullpens then converged near first base, but the confrontation remained verbal and did not escalate further.

Warren, who struggled throughout the evening, allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks over 5⅔ innings. He recorded no strikeouts for the first time in his professional career and was frequently beaten by hard contact; out of 24 balls put into play by the Red Sox, ten registered an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher.

With the loss, the Yankees now face pressure to halt their recent slide as they try to maintain ground in the competitive American League East. Meanwhile, Tolle’s performance gives the Red Sox a boost in their ongoing struggle near the bottom of the division standings.