 During the third inning of a 2007 game at Fenway Park , Manny Ramírez , J. D. Drew , Mike Lowell , and Jason Varitek hit four consecutive home runs off Yankee pitcher Chase Wright , powering a comeback from a three @-@ run deficit and completing a three @-@ game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway Park for the first time since 1990 . By May , after long speculation about what team he would play for after retirement , Roger Clemens chose to return to the Yankees as opposed to the Red Sox ( where he started his career ) or the Houston Astros ( his hometown and last team he played for ) . Clemens helped the Yankees overcome a 14 @-@ game deficit in the standings to roar back to reach the playoffs again , however , this was not enough to win the division . On September 28 , Boston won the AL East after a win against the Minnesota Twins and a loss by the Yankees against the Baltimore Orioles . This was the first AL East Championship for the Red Sox since 1995 , ending the Yankees ' nine @-@ year reign in the division . 
