Jeremy Hermida homered and Adrian Beltre doubled in a pair of runs as the Boston Red Sox avoided a sweep with a 9-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday.

Jon Lester picked up his third straight win with seven strong innings, yielding two runs and four hits while striking out seven. The left-hander has allowed a total of three runs over 27 2/3 innings in his last four starts.

After getting hammered in the first two games of the series by a combined score of 24-6, Boston got to New York starter A.J. Burnett for an unearned run in the second before finally breaking through with a five-run third. J.D. Drew, David Ortiz and Hermida each drove in a run in the frame while Beltre provided the big blow with a two-run double.

The Red Sox kept the pressure on Burnett, pounding the right-hander for another run in the fourth and Hermida's two-run blast in the fifth.

Burnett, who entered the contest with a sparkling 1.99 ERA, was charged with eight earned runs in his first loss of the season, spiking his ERA to 3.40.

Boston moved back to .500 at 16-16 but remains 6 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. The Red Sox have suffered the most against their chief competition, going 2-8 against the Rays and Yankees even after Sunday's victory.