BOSTON (AP) -- A tough game turned into a walk in the park for the Boston Red Sox. Five walks, actually.

That's how many the best bullpen in baseball issued in the seventh inning Wednesday night before Trot Nixon's two-run double capped a five-run rally that gave the Red Sox a 9-7 victory over the New York Yankees.

"We gave them a gift," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "You have to make teams beat you, and we didn't."

	Trot Nixon broke the Yankees' backs with a two-run double in the seventh inning that put the Red Sox ahead 9-5.

New York's relievers entered the game with the best ERA in the majors, 3.25. But Jason Grimsley walked three batters in the seventh and Mike Stanton walked two, forcing in two runs that gave Boston a 7-5 lead.

Nixon, who had tripled in the first, followed with a bases-loaded double off Stanton that landed beyond right fielder Paul O'Neill.

"I was sitting on the fastball," Nixon said. "He was having a little control trouble, but he's such a good pitcher, he could drop a curve or slider on you."

Instead, Stanton threw a fastball up and over the plate and Nixon pounced on it. It turned out to be significant because of Bernie Williams' 15th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the ninth off Derek Lowe, who has given up just three homers in 41 innings.

"Throwing strikes isn't always as easy as it looks," said Stanton, who had walked only six batters in his previous 32 innings. "My mechanics were off and I didn't make the adjustments."

The Red Sox came back from a 5-4 deficit after showing little offense in losing the first two games of the series 22-1 and 3-0. But only three of their runs came in on hits. They scored two on walks, two on grounders, one on a wild pitch and another on a sacrifice fly.

"The way we've been scoring runs lately, we'll take them any way we can get them," said Jeff Frye, who walked with the bases loaded before Nixon's double.

Rich Garces (3-0) got out of the seventh-inning jam after relieving Hipolito Pichardo as Boston stopped a four-game losing streak and closed within a half-game of the Yankees, who lead the AL East.

"It's a huge win," Boston starter Pete Schourek said. "It gives us extra confidence going into tomorrow. If we win, we'll be back in first place. It's like we never played the series."

The Yankees overcame a 4-2 deficit in the seventh on a run-scoring error by Frye at second, an RBI grounder by Chuck Knoblauch -- making his first start with New York at designated hitter -- and a sacrifice fly by O'Neill.

Grimsley (3-2) relieved David Cone starting the bottom of the inning, Nomar Garciaparra singled and Carl Everett walked.

One out later, Scott Hatteberg's groundout tied the game. Grimsley then walked Brian Daubach intentionally and Manny Alexander unintentionally, loading the bases.

Stanton walked Jose Offerman on four pitches and Frye on a 3-2 count as Boston took a 7-5 lead.

Cone, just 1-6 in 14 starts, threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the first and allowed Everett's RBI grounder following Nixon's wind-blown triple over Williams in center.

"I only gave up three bad pitches all night," Cone said. "I feel so good, I could pitch tomorrow."

New York tied the game on RBI singles by Chris Turner in the fifth off Schourek and Jorge Posada in the sixth off Pichardo.

Boston went ahead in the sixth on Alexander's RBI single and Frye's sacrifice fly.

Game notes
The Red Sox optioned LHP Tim Young to Triple-A Pawtucket after the game. ... Derek Jeter said he was fine after fouling a ball off his left knee in the ninth before striking out. ... Frye singled in his third at-bat, one night after his 13-game hitting streak ended. ... Nixon was irate after he was called out by John Hirschbeck on a close play in which Cone dropped a throw from Posada, who was playing first, then picked it up as Nixon hit the base. Nixon said later the call was correct. ... The Yankees hit just two balls out of the infield in the first four innings against Schourek.