BOSTON — Before last night’s game at Fenway Park, Yankee manager Joe Torre took his customary seat in the third-base dugout and talked about some of the strange and extraordinary plays he’s seen unfold at the old ball park.

“The only thing predictable about it is the unpredictability,” Torre said. “You sit here in this dugout and sometimes you say to yourself ‘it doesnt feel right,’ and then all of a sudden something happens. With the size of this ballpark and the things that can happen, it just seems that when something happens, it’s a momentum getter and you can build on it. It’s like Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out.”

After what happened in the third inning of last night’s game against the Red Sox, the Yankee manager now has another entry to pencil into what must be an amazing set of hardball memories. The Yanks had just shot off to a 3-0 lead off Boston’s ballyhooed Japanese starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka, with Jason Giambi driving in all the runs on a double and a single. Chase Wright, New York’s rookie starting pitcher, retired the first two Red Sox in the bottom of the third when one of those bolts of lightning that Torre had reminisced about a few hours earlier hit the Back Bay.

First Manny Ramirez ripped a line-drive homer over the Monster Seats in left. J.D. Drew was up next and he made it two straight shots when he hit a 1-2 curve ball by Wright over the bullpen in right field. Then things got really silly.

Wright flipped a soft changeup that Mike Lowell crushed deep to left and toward Kenmore Square for another home run. Jason Varitek kept the giddy Sox fans on their feet when he laced a Wright fastball deep into the Monster Seats to make it four straight home runs and a 4-3 Boston lead.

The four consecutive homers were both electrifying and historic. It was a first in Red Sox history and the fifth time in major-league history a team homered four straight times in the same inning. The only other pitcher to surrender four consecutive homers was Paul Foytack of the Los Angeles Angels in 1963. One of the four home-run hitters happened to be Tito Francona, the father of the current Boston manager.

No one can account for a shock like that, but that’s what Torre had to do on the run last night. It’s the latest in a series of body blows the Yankees have suffered in a start to a season that’s seen the Bronx Bombers run in place (8-8 entering last night) while dodging all sorts of injury problems. With Chien-Ming Wang expected back tomorrow and Mike Mussina about a week away, New York’s disastrous starting pitching rotation will get better.

If they can solidify the mound corps, a devastating hitting lineup will be in position to carry the team to victories. Alex Rodriguez is off to a historic offensive start and other proven stars such as Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu and Johnny Damon form an assembly line of talent that is second to none in baseball.

Facing the prospect of getting swept by the Red Sox last night, the Yankees pulled out all the stops to grab a win. Hurt by Wright’s implosion and three-inning start, Torre juggled his pitching plans and even inserted Andy Pettitte (Friday night’s starter) into the sixth inning last night. Clearly, he was ready to try anything to get a victory before leaving town and moving on to Tampa Bay.

kmcnamar@projo.com