Clay Buchholz went seven strong innings and Kevin Youkilis belted a two-run home run as the visiting Boston Red Sox held on for a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees in the series opener Friday night.

Buchholz (4-3) struck out a season-high seven and allowed two earned runs on five hits for Boston, which sent New York to its third straight defeat and has taken three of the first four games against its American League East arch-rival.

After Adrian Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the seventh, Youkilis smacked a two-out, two-run homer off Joba Chamberlain to make it 5-2.

Curtis Granderson scored one run and drove in another in the final two innings to cut into the lead, but the Yankees finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Jonathan Papelbon gave up one of those runs but earned his sixth save for Boston, which had lost four of its previous five away from home.

New York starter Bartolo Colon (2-2) allowed three runs – two earned – on five hits with four strikeouts in six innings.

The win kept Boston out of the basement in the division. The Yankees are the only AL East team to have a losing record against the Red Sox this season.