NEW YORK –– The Red Sox got to Joba Chamberlain early on Tuesday night, and it's a good thing they did. After a four-run first inning against the Yankee starter, Chamberlain shut down the Red Sox through the sixth inning, using his curveball to strike out 12 Sox hitters.

But Chamberlain's rebound was the textbook definition of too little, too late.

Though a Johnny Damon three-run homer in the third managed to cut the Red Sox' lead to 4-3, the trio of Josh Beckett, Hideki Okajima and Takashi Saito slammed the door on the Yanks the rest of the way. And Boston added three tack-on runs in the eighth and ninth innings to pull away to a 7-3 victory, giving the Sox a sweep of the two-game series at the new Yankee Stadium.

They're also 5-0 against the ancient rivals so far this year and are 17-10 overall, tied for the fourth-best record in baseball.

"On kind of a miserable night," said manager Terry Francona, referring to the persistent drizzle thoughout the game, "we go home feeling pretty good about ourselves."

With Beckett coming off two rough outings, the Red Sox staked him to an early. In the first, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz hit consecutive singles, with Ortiz's sending Ellsbury home.

That brought up Jason Bay, who is fast becoming a one-man offensive show against the Yankees. Bay poked his seventh home run of the season just over the left-field wall, bringing home Pedroia and Ortiz. Bay is now hitting .500 with three home runs, 10 RBI, and two steals in five games against New York.

Chamberlain settled down after his miserable first inning, and started using his off-speed pitches to great effect. He mowed down 12 Red Sox hitters over the next 4 2/3 innings, including seven of nine batters at one point. He left the game to cheers after getting Jeff Bailey on strikes with his 108th pitch in the sixth inning.

"He started locating a bit better [after the first inning]," said Pedroia. "He did a great job, had great stuff. That's why he struck everybody out."

With Chamberlain holding off the Red Sox, the Yankees struck back in the third. Jose Molina popped a ball just in front of a diving Ellsbury for a single, and Derek Jeter joined him on base via a single to right. Damon golfed a Beckett first-pitch fastball into the second deck in right field, cutting the deficit to 4-3 Red Sox.

"It was supposed to be a sinker, down and away," said Beckett. "But I think it was right down the middle."

Save for that one Damon fastball, Beckett was efficient. He went six innings, frustrating the Yankees by allowing singles and doubles, but then getting key outs when he needed them. He gave up 10 hits and walked one, preserving the Boston lead long enough for Okajima to finish off the side in the seventh.

"He looked great," said Pedroia. "Other than [Damon's homer], he threw the ball great."

"I thought Josh was real good," said Francona. "He buckled down and gave us enough."

The Red Sox added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth. In the eighth, Bay reached on an error by third baseman Ramiro Pena, and reliever Jonathan Albaladejo walked J.D. Drew before hitting Bailey to load the bases. Jason Varitek brought Bay home with a sacrifice fly, and Nick Green singled to plate Drew, increasing the lead to 6-3.

In the ninth, the Sox loaded the bases on three walks by Yankee reliever Mark Melancon, and then his relief, David Robertson, walked Bailey to bring home Boston's seventh run.

Saito finished off the game for Boston.

"We're happy to get out of here with a couple of wins," said Pedroia.

The win meant that the Sox return to Fenway Park concluding their three-city road trip with five wins and four losses –– a pretty good result when the cities are Cleveland, Tampa Bay and New York.

dbarbari@projo.com