Yankee Stadium was packed with fans and the red, white and blue pennants were on a sunny afternoon, just like the first few days before the pandemic.
Shadows had stalked the infield when Josh Donaldson capped his New York debut with a performance reminiscent of the Yankees of yesteryear: their first Opening Day win since Yogi Berra defeated Andy Carey. the Washington Senators in 1957.
Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP with Toronto, was acquired from Minnesota on March 13.Coming from a 3-0 deficit in the first inning, he became only the third Yankee with an RBI in his first game after Roy Weatherly in the 1943 opener and Chase Headley in July 2014, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, also won in the Donaldson trade, started the first extra inning game of Strange Rule Season 3 as an automatic runner on second base.
Donaldson hit a 3-pointer down the middle against rookie Kutter Crawford, who initiated 11th place, and narrowly beat pitches from new Boston second baseman Trevor Story and shortstop Jonathan Arauz, who took over in 10th place, after Xander Bogaerts injured his right hamstring.
Kiner-Falefa slipped over the plate well before midfielder Kiké Hernández’s jump shot.Donaldson ran into second place and flipped his helmet, then he was mobbed by his teammates.
It was the Yankees’ sixth opening game win, the team’s first win over Boston since 1906. The Red Sox led 3-0 after a two-run homer by Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez’s RBI double ahead of Gerrit Cole’s single, the Yankees ace was beside himself after a lengthy pregame ceremony disrupted his routine.
Seats were filled with 46,097 spectators, COVID-19 protocols were waived and opening day celebrations returned after two pandemic-hit seasons.
The flag of Ukraine was raised and its national anthem played before “The Star-Spangled Banner” during ceremonies that included a minute’s silence for war victims.
Anthony Rizzo had a homer on two runs in the bottom half and Stanton tied it with a leadoff homer in the fourth half at 3. Both were outside of Nathan Eovaldi, who beat Cole in the AL wildcard game last year.
Alex Verdugo pulled Boston back through an infield at 4-3 with an RBI single in the sixth from Clay Holmes, but DJ LeMahieu scored in the eighth from Garrett Whitlock.
Bogaert’s third goal put the Red Sox ahead in the tenth inning, an RBI singles winner Michael King, the Yankees’ eighth pitcher.
Pinch hitter Gleyber Torres, off the starting lineup in favor of LeMahieu at second base, leveled the score in the bottom half with a victim fly from Ryan Brasier.
COACHES’ ROOM
Yankees: Rizzo was hit in the right hand by an Eovaldi fastball in the fifth inning. He stayed in the game.
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