Opening night, Boston Red Sox vs the New York Yankees on a beautiful 67-degree night at Fenway Park. It was a perfect setting. Red Sox ace Josh Beckett was warming up, as was Yankees ace CC Sabathia, who looked a little more portly than usual. Players laughed in the dugout, new faces donned new uniforms, and the crowd buzzed energetically. Baseball was set to begin.
And, expecting nothing less, it was a classic nail-biter between hated rivals.
Beckett, who allowed five home-runs to the Yankees the last time he faced them, reverted back to those forgettable days to start his 2010 campaign. His desire to rely on his fastball backfired as it did then, and poor location didn’t help matters. He, who is on the verge of signing a four-year extension with the club , needed just seven pitches to throw a perfect first inning, but he scuffled in the second.
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada ripped an inside fastball off the Pesky Pole in right for the first run of the 2010 season, and then Curtis Granderson followed by scorching a curveball that didn’t curve enough deep into the right-field seats. He allowed two more two-out hits in the inning, both singles on a lifeless fastball and a flat changeup, but a groundout by Derek Jeter helped Beckett avoid giving up a crooked number.
Boston cut the margin in half as they began to fluster Sabathia and increase his pitch-count exponentially by playing small ball. On a 3-1 count, Kevin Youkilis pummeled a grooved fastball into center for a double. On a 3-2 count, David Ortiz moved him over to third on a broken-bat groundout to first baseman Mark Teixeira.
Then Adrian Beltre productively became a Red Sox, crushing a deep drive to center that undeservedly fell into the glove of a leaping Granderson for a sacrifice fly.
Both starting pitchers allowed leadoff walks in the third, but nothing came of them, setting up a fourth in which Beckett’s troubles with two out continued. A double by Robinson Cano to begin things was followed by a pair of singles and then a costly blunder by catcher Victor Martinez.
Nick Johnson took a ball high with Brett Gardner on third and Derek Jeter on first. Jeter took off for second and, without looking Gardner back to third, Martinez fired off-line to Marco Scutaro, who was far too deep in the infield to receive the ball. Gardner had taken off a split second after Jeter and, thanks to Boston’s lack of awareness, he slid safely with ease.
With that, New York took a 5-1 lead. Beckett was done after allowing two more runners to reach base with two-out in the fourth. Scott Schoenweis relieved him and got out of the jam, which proved pivotal.
Now it was Boston’s turn to tag the opposition with two outs. Lined singles by J.D. Drew and Mike Cameron set up a third by Scutaro. The new shortstop hit sharp liner into left. Gardner came up with it a threw it Johnny Damon-style to no one.
It bounded off the on-deck circle and to the back-stop, forcing this fantastic quote out of ESPN announcer John Miller: “If I’m Brett, I’m asking to come in early [tomorrow] and practice.”
Jacoby Ellsbury kept Gardner from feeling worse, continuing what would be a night to forget for the speedy left-fielder by striking out, thwarting the Red Sox chance for a big inning. No matter; Boston would break through eventually.
Sabathia was nearing the 90 pitch threshold as he began the sixth. The Red Sox could feel a sway in momentum and the big lefthander was on his last legs. Boston benefited from Joe Girardi’s hesitancy to pull the plug on his ace. Four of his five pitches to Dustin Pedroia were out of the strikezone.
The leadoff walk should have been a clear sign to the Yankee manager that he was fatiguing, but, even with David Robertson warming in the bullpen, no call was made. This backfired considerably on New York. Victor Martinez doubled Pedroia to third and Youkilis clubbed a gapper passed Nick Swisher and sped into third for a two-run, stand-up triple.
As are all games between the Red Sox and Yankees, this was entertaining, back and forth, and powered by hot offenses. So much for it being a battle between Beckett and Sabathia.
Sabathia was finally replaced by Robertson after a groundout by Ortiz, but it was three batters too late. Robertson entered and Beltre wasted little time greeting him, nailing a first-pitch fastball through for a rbi-single to incredibly erase a four-run deficit and notch a tie at five.
Red Sox relievers Ramon Ramirez and Hideki Okajima helped turn the contest back into the Yankees favor, combining to allow three hits, a walk, and two runs. Boston would have to come back once more.
Girardi brought in newly-signed veteran Chan Ho Park hoping the 37-year-old would bridge the gap to Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera adequately. Park has been successful in his career, and was particularly valuable last season with the Phillies.
He was not on top of his game tonight, allowing Scutaro to reach for the third straight time on a single. After a strikeout of Ellsbury, he made Girardi, his Yankee teammates, and their fans in the stands cringe, doing the one thing that shouldn’t be done against Pedroia.
He fired in a high fastball down the middle. Pedroia, all 5′9″ of him, happens to demolish high fastballs. And he did it again, tagging the offering high and deep into the Green Monster seats in left. Pedey pumped his fist as he rounded first. Fenway Park went ballistic, clapping in unison. Tie game. Park didn’t allow a home run all last season.
A lead was soon Boston’s, as a wild-pitch by Damaso Marte and passed ball by Posada allowed Youkilis, who had socked a two-out double high off the Monster, to rumble home for the eighth run.
Boston would add another in the eighth, as, after a walk and single by Cameron and Scutaro, Pedroia drove in his third run with a single. The Red Sox bullpen would proceed to do what New York’s couldn’t, closing the door with Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon.
Thought not to have enough hitting to compensate for their stacked pitching staff and defensive upgrades, the bats showed up in a big way tonight. A win over the their despised rival was the result. They couldn’t have started the baseball season on a better foot.
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