BOSTON — The Yankees, who had played 10 straight games decided by three runs or fewer, were in need of a laugher.
They got one, but they were the butt of the joke.
Domingo German failed to record an out in the third inning, the Yankees’ infield defense was shoddy and their bats stayed quiet until it was too late, all of which combined for an embarrassing stinker of a 15-5 loss to the Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway Park.
It ugly enough that the Yankees turned to utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa to pitch the eighth inning in his second mound appearance of the season.
The Yankees (39-31) have now lost six of their last nine games, though not even the injured Aaron Judge would have been able to save them in this dud that delighted the sellout crowd of 37,086.
To make matters worse, they may have to sit on it for an extra day with rain threatening to postpone their game Saturday night.
On a night when the Yankees were inexplicably charged with just two errors, Josh Donaldson, Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres all had misplays in the infield that led to runs while right fielder Jake Bauers added an errant throw.
German had arguably been the Yankees’ best starting pitcher over the past month and a half, with a 2.20 ERA in his past seven outings.
The last time out, he limited the Red Sox to one run on six hits across six innings last Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
But on Friday, it all came crumbling down in a hurry.
In his shortest start of the season, German got shelled for seven runs on seven hits (six of them for extra bases), two walks and one hit batter across two-plus innings.
The right-hander was given a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning and promptly gave it back in the bottom of the frame, with the Red Sox (35-35) scoring the first two of 13 unanswered runs.
Matt Krook relieved German and didn’t fare much better in his long-awaited MLB debut. He was tagged for five more runs across 1 ²/₃ innings — though he didn’t get much help behind him.
Justin Turner single-handedly did much of the damage, going 3-for-5 with two home runs, including a grand slam off Krook, a double and six RBIs. Masataka Yoshida also went 4-for-4, with a pair of doubles and three RBIs.
Yoshida’s two-run double gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the first inning, in which they forced German to throw 32 pitches.
Turner’s two-run homer to the Green Monster seats made it 4-1 in the second inning.
German gave up two more doubles and a single to the first three batters he faced in the third inning before manager Aaron Boone went to the bullpen.
Krook, who had been waiting to throw his first big league pitch since his second stint with the Yankees began on June 8, came in and had a rough time, in part thanks to the defense behind him.
The left-hander got two quick outs before Pablo Reyes hit a grounder to third base that Donaldson bobbled on the transfer.
That extended the inning, and two batters later, Turned crushed a grand slam that made it 10-1 and blew the game open.
The only scare for the Red Sox came in the fifth inning, when Kyle Higashioka hit an 89.7 mph line drive off the face of starter Tanner Houck.
The right-hander began bleeding on the mound, but was able to walk off under his own power, holding a towel over his face, with what the Red Sox called a facial contusion.
