The most recent addition to the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees’ legendary rivalry was one of the more memorable to come along in the last few years, at least for those fans who stuck around to the finish.
The Red Sox pulled out a 6-5 victory that needed 19 innings—or seven hours and five minutes if you’re keeping track—to determine a winner.
Red Sox owner John W. Henry was one of the brave souls who made it all the way through:
Mookie Betts produced the decisive action. Xander Bogaerts singled with one out in the top of the 19th and proceeded to steal second base. A Ryan Hanigan walk put runners on first and second, and they moved up a base after a passed ball charged to Yankees catcher John Ryan Murphy.
That passed ball proved pivotal, as it allowed Bogaerts to score on a sacrifice fly from Betts to shallow center. Steven Wright got the win after pitching five innings in relief.
The Red Sox certainly had no shortage of opportunities to win this game before the 19th. They owned the lead on three different occasions from the ninth inning and beyond but squandered the advantage each time.
The first came in the bottom of the ninth as Edward Mujica attempted to protect a 3-2 lead. Yankees third baseman Chase Headley kept New York alive with a game-tying home run:
The game was prolonged in the 12th inning when a bank of lights at Yankee Stadium went out. A handful of intrepid Yankees fans attempted to remedy the situation with their cellphones, to no avail:
For all intents and purposes, it looked as though David Ortiz decided the game in the top of the 16th with a solo home run to right field off Esmil Rogers.
According to Jon Shestakofsky, the Red Sox’s manager of media relations and baseball information, Big Papi’s homer was historic:
But just when the few fans in Yankee Stadium thought they were close to calling it a night, Mark Teixeira delivered a solo home run of his own to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the 16th.
In the top of the 18th, Pablo Sandoval hit a single to center that scored Dustin Pedroia, giving Boston a 5-4 edge. A key moment during the play was Hanley Ramirez getting thrown out at third. With Ramirez on base, the Red Sox would’ve had runners on first and second and one out. Instead, only Sandoval occupied a base.
His mistake was compounded a half-inning later when Carlos Beltran doubled, plating Murphy. But Wright did a good job of getting out of a jam and stranding Beltran on third to keep the game tied.
The Guardian‘s Hunter Felt wondered if things had gotten to the point, though, where Red Sox fans just wanted it to end one way or another:
At least Boston fans didn’t have to wait much longer for their team to go ahead once again, this time for good.
The Yankees and Red Sox won’t have much time to rest before they’re right back on the field; they play each other Saturday afternoon, with the first pitch scheduled at 1:05 p.m. ET.
For the sake of everybody involved, they’d probably be smart to figure out a victory after nine innings.
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