(Sports Network) – Following their 19-inning, six-hour, 49-minute marathon the
Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will get right back at it on Saturday at
Yankee Stadium.
The storied rivals played the second-longest game by innings in their historic
matchup, but in the end Xander Bogaerts scored on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly
in the 19th inning to send Boston to a 6-5 win.
“We were finally able to keep a one-run advantage,” Red Sox manager John
Farrell said. “We could go on and on about some individual plays, but this was
a test of endurance.”
In terms of time, it was the longest game in the 115-year history of the Red
Sox and that didn’t include a 16-minute delay due to a power outage in the
12th inning.
“It was one game, but it seemed like six,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
It was the second-longest contest between the teams, only short of an Aug. 29,
1967 game that went 20 frames, a 4-3 New York win.
Esmil Rogers (0-1), the eighth pitcher for the Yankees, gave up a one-out
single to Bogaerts, who then stole second. After Ryan Hanigan walked, the
players advanced on a passed ball. Betts then lifted a sacrifice fly to center
and there was no play at the plate.
Rogers, who lasted 4 2/3 innings, then managed to retire Dustin Pedroia on a
fly ball to right.
“That was his last hitter. That was the only place we could go,” said Girardi,
who added that the next pitcher would have been first baseman Garrett Jones.
Steven Wright (1-0) gave up six hits and two runs over the final five innings
to get the win in the opener of this three-game set, which ended at 2:13 a.m.
ET.
Extra innings became necessary when New York’s Chase Headley belted a two-out
home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Later in the 16th, David Ortiz
homered and was matched by Mark Teixeira’s solo shot. The teams also traded
runs in the 18th.
Boston is expected to activate righty Joe Kelly from the disabled list to
start the middle test of this three-game series.
The thought was that the Red Sox were going to give the knuckleballer Wright a
spot start, but the team decided to give Kelly the ball after watching his
most recent bullpen session on Wednesday.
Kelly, acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals last July along with Allen Craig
in the John Lackey deal, came down with biceps tendinitis during a Grapefruit
League start on March 16. He’ll likely be limited to around 85-90 pitches.
The 26-year-old was a combined 6-4 last season with a 4.20 ERA over 17 starts
for the Red Sox and Cardinals.
New York, meanwhile, will hand the ball to righty Adam Warren, who won the
fifth starter’s spot with an impressive spring that saw him pitch to a 2.70
ERA in 16 2/3 innings.
Warren, who has only made three big league starts, was used primarily out of
the bullpen last season and went 3-6 with a 2.97 ERA in 69 appearances.
New York won 12 of its 19 meetings with the Red Sox last season.
