BOSTON -- Alex Rodriguez won't be joining the game's biggest stars in Cincinnati next week, but the New York Yankees slugger sure looked like an All-Star this weekend at Fenway Park.

Rodriguez capped a successful three-game series with another pivotal hit Sunday afternoon, driving in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning double as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6 in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

The designated hitter's gapper to left-center was one of three doubles in New York's three-run sixth. Rodriguez, who failed to make his 15th All-Star team, hit first-inning solo homers in each of the first two games of the series and drove in four of the Yankees' 16 runs over the weekend.

"I would have liked to see him go to Cincinnati, but the off days will help him as well," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, referring to the 86th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game which will be played at Great American Ballpark on Tuesday night.

Rodriguez is in the midst of a resurgence after his one-year ban for performance-enhancing drug use. Once an uncertainty for the Yankees, Rodriguez reclaimed his spot in the middle of the order and hit .278 with a team-high 18 home runs and 51 RBIs in the first half of 2015.

On Sunday, Rodriguez went 1-for-4 while serenaded with the usual boos from Red Sox fans.

New York (48-40) closed out the first half of the season with three straight series victories.

"I think it was important because two of them (were) within our division," Girardi said. "I've talked about the importance of those games, playing each team 19 times. They mean a lot, and that's a nice series win."

Nathan Eovaldi (9-2) earned the win for the Yankees, who won two of three against Boston to win their fifth straight series at Fenway. The right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out four in five innings.

"I felt like I had a lot of first-pitch strikes," Eavoldi said. "I was attacking well. They were just battling off a lot of good pitches and finding holes."

Yankees catcher Brian McCann hit a two-run home run to left in the second inning and scored the tying run in the fifth on a balk by Red Sox starting pitcher Wade Miley.

Third baseman Chase Headley and right fielder Chris Young each had an RBI for New York.

New York second baseman Rob Refsnyder, who went hitless in his major league debut Saturday, followed up his first career hit -- a leadoff single to center in the seventh -- with the first home run of his big league career, a two-run shot in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

"They bunched some hits together," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "We continued to fight back."

A pair of ninth-inning Yankees errors led to two of Red Sox runs, but left-hander Andrew Miller weathered the storm and forced a game-ending popout.

Boston fell 6 1/2 games behind first-place New York in the AL East entering the break.

Miley (8-8) lost for the second time in three starts against the Yankees this year. Boston's southpaw gave up six runs on seven hits and had two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

"All we can do is put the first half behind us and come out on Friday and start all over," Miley said.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and designated hitter Hanley Ramirez each had RBI singles in the third inning to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. Right fielder Shane Victorino's sixth-inning single drove in Boston's fourth run.

Ramirez finished with a pair of RBIs after the ninth-inning rally, and left fielder Alejandro De Aza drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to right.

Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games, and second baseman Brock Holt moved his streak to 11 games.

NOTES: New York enters the All-Star break atop the AL East for the first time since 2012. ... Yankees INF Alex Rodriguez, OF Brett Gardner and OF Jacoby Ellsbury all collected hits in the first eight games against Boston this season entering Sunday's series finale. Before Sunday, Rodriguez was batting .345 (10-for-29) with three home runs and nine RBIs against the Red Sox in 2015. He was 1-for-4 with an RBI Sunday. ... New York RHP Nathan Eovaldi had not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last four starts coming in. He yielded three earned runs Sunday. ... Boston has not won a series against New York at Fenway Park since Sept. 13-15, 2013. ... Red Sox 1B/DH David Ortiz (respiratory ailment) was not in the lineup Sunday. ... Red Sox 3B Pablo Sandoval was 12-for-17 with a homer and three doubles against Eovaldi in his career prior to first pitch. He was 1-for-3 against Eovaldi on Sunday.