The Red Sox’ Opening Day win over the Yankees squares off against Jed Lowrie‘s 11th-inning walk-off homer against the Blue Jays in the first round of the Best 2010 Red Sox Game That Aired on NESN competition.
The Red Sox wasted no time in supplying drama for the Fenway faithful in 2010. In the season opener at the Fens on Easter Sunday (April 4), the Red Sox staged a late-inning comeback to nip the Yankees 9-7. After Boston tied things at five in the sixth, the Yankees plated two in the top of the seventh. Boston rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the frame that included a Dustin Pedroia two-run homer and a Kevin Youkilis go-ahead run on a passed ball. Both aces — CC Sabathia and Josh Beckett — exited early as the pair of All-Stars allowed a combined 10 earned runs on 14 hits. Hideki Okajima picked up the win while Jonathan Papelbon picked up the save in the hitters’ duel.
Jed Lowrie missed the first half of the 2010 season with mononucleosis, but he produced one of the most memorable moments of his career in the second half. On Aug. 21 against the Blue Jays — a night after the Red Sox suffered an embarrassing 16-2 loss to Toronto — Lowrie led off the bottom of the 11th inning a 2-2 hanging curveball from Casey Janssen into Boston’s bullpen at Fenway Park. The blast was Lowrie’s first career walk-off home run and gave the Red Sox a 5-4 win. The only hit that meant more to the young shortstop in his career was the walk-off single he hit to win Game 4 of the 2008 ALDS against the Angels.
