BOSTON — Alfonso Soriano continued to flex his powerful muscles and Mark Reynolds impressed in his first game as a Yankee.
However, Andy Pettitte was the story at Fenway Park because if the Yankees have any hope of extending the season into October, Pettitte must be more like he was last night than how he had pitched previously.
Soriano homered and drove in four runs and Reynolds, signed Thursday off the street, homered in his first plate appearance as a Yankee.
Yet, it was Pettitte who was the headliner of a 10-3 Yankees victory that was witnessed by a 38,143 more interested in booing Alex Rodriguez than supporting the suddenly slumping Red Sox, who made three errors and had two runners make outs on the bases while trailing by six runs.
Anthony J. Causi
TEAMING UP: While Alfonso Soriano, who went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, powered the Yankees' offense, Andy Pettitte (pictured) limited the Red Sox to three runs on six hits during the Bombers' win.
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The AL East leaders have lost seven of 11 and are 7 1/2 games ahead of the fourth-place Yankees, who haven't been this close to the lead since July 29. The Yankees have won six of eight.
Not having won since July 11, a span of five starts in which he was 0-3, Pettitte went 6 2/3 innings, allowed three unearned runs thanks to two errors by Eduardo Nunez and six hits.
"It's a great win for us," said Pettitte who is 8-9. "We have to win every series. Hopefully I will continue to have crisp stuff when I go out there."
Pettitte picked Jonny Gomes off first in the fourth and faced just one batter with a runner in scoring position through six innings.
With a revamped lineup fueled by Soriano's torrid stretch of 18 RBIs over four games (tying the all-time record), has been stretched by the addition of Rodriguez (2-for-4) and augmented with the signing of Reynolds, who will play first base against lefties, the onus to get the Yankees in the playoff picture is on the starting rotation.
"We need everyone of our starters,'' manager Joe Girardi said. "We need them to get on a roll.''
Soriano's roll has been ridiculous. He went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs. In the last four games he is batting .722 (13-for-18)
"When we get the win we are having fun,'' said Soriano, whose three-run homer in the third off Felix Doubront (8-6) gave Pettitte a 6-0 lead. He also drove in the game's initial run with a two-out RBI single in the first.
"I have never considered myself a power hit, but I am getting close to 400 [homers]. I have been blessed with quick hands.''
Soriano is three shy of 400 and has given the lineup a different profile.
"I don't think anyone has written them off by any means. We've got nine more games remaining against them. They've got a completely different look to their lineup than we saw a month ago,'" Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "They've got a lot of life right now. I thought Pettitte tonight was much more sharp than the last time we faced them. Almost looked rejuvenated in a way. Stuff was more crisp. So they're obviously feeling pretty good about themselves right now.''
Considering his experience and track record before this year's disappointment, an effective 41-year-old Pettitte is a must for the Yankees.
Reynolds, who was let go by the Indians on Aug. 14, is the 14th Yankee since 1961 to homer in his first plate appearance. He finished with two hits and three RBIs.
"Early, I wasn't real sharp with my command,'' Pettitte said. "After the second inning I hardly made any mistakes until the [seventh inning] when I got tired.''
george.king@nypost.com
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