Red Sox Outlast Yankees in Extra-Inning Extravaganza

Apr 10, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder

(50) hits a sacrifice fly against the New York Yankees during the 19th inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

It turned out to be an epic evening at Yankees Stadium Friday night. It was a game that won’t soon be forgotten. Of course, for those who managed to stay awake to witness the finish.

It took the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees 19 innings to settle the opening game of their three-game weekend set Friday night in the Bronx. The first of 19 slated meetings between the two sides this season ultimately went to Boston, 6-5.

In victory, the Red Sox improved to 3-1 on the season while the Yankees fell to 1-3.

A sacrifice fly off the bat of Mookie Betts in the top of the 19th put the Red Sox on top for good. Then in the bottom half of the frame, at 2:13 a.m., the Red Sox put the Yankees away with a double play to cap off the longest game in Boston’s history.

Betts’ sacrifice fly off of Esmil Rogers plated Xander Bogaerts who had reached base for the fourth time in extra innings alone. Boston’s winning run finally came after they had blown leads in the 9th, 16th and 18th.

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Wade Miley got the start for the Red Sox in a game that featured 17 different pitchers over the course of 6 hours and 49 minutes. The came ended up taking over 7 hours to complete due an unusual power outage in the 12th. Over 600 pitches were thrown in total.

Miley, who made his team debut, struck out 6 over 5 1/3 innings of work. He allowed just 2 earned runs, but was slapped with a no decision.

Nathan Eovaldi started for the Yankees and also made his team debut. Eovaldi went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits. He was chased from the game in 6th after Daniel Nava singled home a pair. Eovaldi was charged with 2 wild pitches in the inning.

Trailing 3-2 in the 9th, Chase Headley smacked a solo homer to right off Boston’s temporary closer Edward Mujica. The hit forced 10 more innings of back-and-forth baseball.

In the 16th, David Ortiz belted a solo homer to right to give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead. Mark Teixiera countered with one of his own in the home half. Pablo Sandoval singled home Dustin Pedroia in 18th, but Carlos Beltran evened the score for the Yankees with an RBI double.

Steven Wright pitched 5 innings in relief for Boston. He scattered 6 hits, 3 walks and struck out 1. Craig Breslow threw 2 innings, among a slew of other Red Sox pitchers who made appearances in the marathon of a game.

Hanley Ramirez, Sandoval and Bogaerts combined to go 11-for 27 in the game.  Mike Napoli was a glaring 0-for-8. Boston outhit New York, 18-14.

Boston’s ability to outlast the Yankees impressed manager John Farrell.

“It’s a testament to the will and the resiliency of this team,” Farrell said following the game.

The two sides will play the middle game of their series on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.