MLB: Yanks beat Red Sox in extra-inning thriller, Toronto tops Texas with comeback
New York, New York - After having to wait an extra day to open their respective seasons, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees squared off for another chapter in their storied Major League Baseball rivalry.
In extra innings, the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 6-5 thanks to some walk-off magic from a new addition they signed during the offseason.
Boston broke out in the first inning with three runs in the top half, jarring Yankees ace pitcher Gerrit Cole (31) but not knocking him out of the game.
New York luckily answered back with a two-run shot in the bottom of the first to make things more interesting.
The scoring died down a bit until a solo homer by Giancarlo Stanton tied things up in the fourth.
Boston answered back a few innings later with an RBI single by Alex Verdugo to reclaim the lead.
Yet a solo homer by DJ LeMahieu knotted things up at 4-4 in the eighth before the game headed into extra innings.
Both sides each tacked on another run in the 11th before the Yankees had a chance to win, and that’s where the white-and-blue striped newcomer Josh Donaldson answered the call.
All it took was a single, Donaldson’s second hit of the game, to send home Isiah Kiner-Falefa for the walk-off win.
Yankees reliever Michael Kind secured the win with two innings of work and three strikeouts, while Red Sox reliever Kutter Crawford, who gave up the game-winning hit, was tagged with the loss.
Both teams face each other again for the second game in their series on Saturday afternoon.
The Blue Jays out duel the Rangers for a comeback win in their home opener
North of the border, the Toronto Blue Jays had their opening day start off with a historic 10-8 comeback victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
Texas tore off for seven runs in the first four innings to put Toronto in an early hole.
But it thankfully didn’t get any worse, as the Blue Jays finally made some progress with three runs in the bottom of the fourth.
First baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr. (25) notched his first of two hits in the game, driving in the first Toronto run and sparking the eventual comeback for his team.
The Blue Jays then went on to score seven more runs over the next four innings that had them up by two runs in the ninth.
The Rangers only had three outs left in order to force extra innings or take the lead back and possibly the win. But Toronto closer Jordan Romano struck out two and forced a pop out to left to secure victory for the Blue Jays.
Before Friday night’s comeback, no team had come back from seven or more runs on Opening Day since the NY Yankees overcame a nine-run deficit to beat Boston 15-10 in 1950.
Relief pitcher Adam Cimber was on the mound when the Jays took the lead, earning him the win, while Dennis Santana got the loss due to the sixth-inning run he surrendered that put Toronto up for good.
Game two of a three-game series between the Blue Jays and Rangers will play out on Saturday afternoon.
Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports