BOSTON — The Red Sox weren’t the only team generating cheers at Fenway Park on Saturday.
As the Fenway Faithful soaked up Jon Lester’s gem against the Oakland Athletics, there also were plenty of fans closely monitoring the Boston Bruins-Montreal Canadiens playoff game taking place at TD Garden. This became obvious through the crowd’s reaction every time the Bruins scored, and then again when a worker wearing a B’s jersey updated the hockey score on the Green Monster scoreboard.
“(Pitching coach) Juan (Nieves) and I were talking about it in the dugout as it was happening, and even before the man behind the wall in the Bruins jersey came out, the crowd reaction told us what was taking place (in the Bruins-Canadiens game),” Red Sox manager John Farrell recounted before Sunday’s series finale against the A’s. “And we were just kind of marveling. The fans here are into everything. When the people that are in the ballpark here are playing close attention to what’s going on down at the Garden, it just is an example of how passionate they are and how in tune they are with all sports and all teams in this city.”
The Fenway crowd erupted after each of the Bruins’ five goals, though it was the scoreboard operator carrying the numbers along the warning track that elicited the biggest responses. A few “Let’s go Bruins” chants even broke out throughout the afternoon.
“With each number that was hung on the scoreboard, obviously the reaction got louder and it made for not only a unique, but I think kind of a special day here in Boston,” Farrell said.
The Red Sox defeated the A’s 6-3 on Saturday behind a 15-strikeout effort from Lester, while the Bruins overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Canadiens 5-3. It certainly was a productive afternoon in several crevices of the city.
