NEW YORK — It was one of those games where you momentarily forgot which players were in the starting lineup, who threw the first pitch and perhaps even where you parked.
The Red Sox and Yankees battled for nearly seven hours Friday night and into Saturday morning before Boston secured a 6-5 win in 19 innings to open the teams’ three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
The Red Sox had a hard time holding down the Yankees, as New York fought tooth and nail to extend the game on more than one occasion. Boston finally fended off its resilient opponent at 2:13 a.m. Saturday.
There will be no rest for the weary, as the Red Sox and Yankees are back in action Saturday afternoon, just a few short hours after Boston turned a double-play to end Friday’s marathon affair. The series opener was an instant classic, though, so it’s worth examining a few more notes before turning the page.
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— As you probably heard, Friday’s game was the longest (in terms of time) in Red Sox history at six hours, 49 minutes.
It surpassed Boston’s previous record of six hours, 35 minutes, set on Aug. 25, 2001 against the Texas Rangers in Arlington.
— The game was the longest home game in Yankees history. It was the second-longest game in Yankees history, trailing only a seven-hour contest against the Detroit Tigers on June 24, 1962.
That 1962 game against the Tigers lasted 22 innings and ended with a Yankees win.
— In case you were wondering, the MLB record for the longest game (in terms of time) is eight hours, six minutes by the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox (25 innings) on May 5, 1984.
— The Red Sox and Yankees combined for 627 pitches between 17 pitchers, including nine Boston hurlers.
— It was the 11th game in Red Sox history to last at least 19 innings. The only longer win in team history was a 20-inning victory over the Seattle Mariners on July 27, 1969.
— No American League team had played an extra-inning game going into Friday.
— The Yankees released the following statement, according to the club’s postgame notes, regarding the 12th-inning power outage at Yankee Stadium:
“The Yankees believe there was a power surge throughout the building and turned on additional light banks that are normally off above the right and left field foul poles as electricians rebooted the lights that were lost during the surge. The delay lasted 16 minutes.”
— The Red Sox used 21 players. The only players on the 25-man roster not used were utility man Brock Holt and pitchers Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson.
— The Red Sox left 20 men on base, tied for their fourth-most in a single game since at least 1945. It was their most since stranding 20 runners on July 10, 1977.
— The Red Sox had just two extra-base hits in their previous 147 plate appearances — dating back to Hanley Ramirez’s Opening Day grand slam — before David Ortiz’s 16th-inning home run.
— Ortiz’s 16th-inning home run marked his 11th extra-inning homer as a member of the Red Sox, placing him two blasts behind Ted Williams’ franchise record of 13.
It was the latest in a game Ortiz has homered in his career and the latest in a game a Red Sox player has homered since Kevin Millar went deep in the 16th inning on April Fools’ Day 2003.
— Xander Bogaerts tied a career-high with four hits. All came in extra innings, making him the first Red Sox player to record as many as four hits during the extra innings of a game since at least 1947.
Bogaerts, who is 7-for-12 with two walks over his last two games, is hitting .336 (40-for-116) over his last 29 games dating back to last season. That’s the sixth-best mark in the AL since Aug. 31, 2014.
— Steven Wright earned the win after pitching the final five innings in relief. He was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket before Saturday’s game, as Joe Kelly (Saturday’s starter) was activated from the 15-day disabled list.
— Everyone in the Red Sox’s taxed bullpen is available Saturday, according to manager John Farrell.
Boston would like to limit heavily used Tommy Layne and Craig Breslow if possible, Farrell said.
— Farrell said Saturday morning he slept for roughly three hours before arriving back at the ballpark at 8:30 a.m.
— The Red Sox pushed back their team bus to the park to 10:30 a.m.
Dustin Pedroia wasn’t on the bus because he arrived early at Yankee Stadium. Go figure.
Thumbnail photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images
