By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com NEW YORK -- The Yankees have spent weeks at their lockers talking about wanting to secure the American League East title, but between the white lines, actually putting a charge into motion is proving more difficult than anticipated. Jon Lester carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Ivan Nova was unable to get through five frames as the Yankees were quietly dispatched to their fourth straight defeat, suffering a 7-3 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday at Yankee Stadium. Lester had faced just one batter over the minimum before Francisco Cervelli finally contributed the first Yankees hit, a line-drive single that left fielder Daniel Nava knocked down but could not catch. That set up runners on first and second with one out for Derek Jeter, who bounced a hit through the left side of the infield. Austin Kearns was waved around third base, but Nava came up throwing home, where catcher Victor Martinez slapped a tag on Kearns' left leg just before he touched the plate. Curtis Granderson did connect for his 23rd home run off Daniel Bard in the eighth inning, a two-run shot, but it wasn't enough to close the gap. Lester completed seven innings, limiting New York to two hits and three walks. The Yankees' magic number to secure a postseason berth remained at three, as they continue to look up at the Rays for the American League East lead. Nova came up short of making it through the fifth inning for the third time in his last five starts, with the rookie right-hander's biggest trouble coming in a three-run Boston third inning. The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the third, as Nova hit a batter, issued a walk and allowed a single. A visit by pitching coach Dave Eiland followed, and Marco Scutaro sent a run-scoring single up the middle. After a second run scored on a double-play grounder, David Ortiz lined a run-scoring single just inside the first-base line. Nova was knocked out in the fifth, as J.D. Drew stroked a two-out ground-rule double and came home on an Ortiz RBI single off lefty Royce Ring, who's trying to make an impression against slim odds of making a postseason roster. Nova was charged with four runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out two. Chad Gaudin surrendered back-to-back home runs to Drew and Martinez in the seventh as the Red Sox opened up a six-run advantage. Alex Rodriguez completed the scoring with his 28th homer of the season, a solo shot in the ninth inning.
