Red Sox at Yankees
The Boston-New York rivalry may have lost some pizzazz over the last
couple years, but the 2015 season series opened with plenty of drama and the squads will have little rest before a matinee Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
After the Yankees on Friday forged three ties with single runs in the ninth, 16th
and 18th innings, the Red Sox prevailed 6-5 in 19.
Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly was the difference and Stephen Wright, the ninth Boston pitcher, lasted the final five innings to get the victory in the longest game in Red Sox history (6 hours, 49 minutes), which also featured a 16-minute delay in the 12th inning due to a lights outage. The Yankees utilized eight pitchers, leaving a little extra pressure on Saturday's starters to go deep into the game. Boston was originally scheduled to give the ball to Wright but switched earlier Friday to Joe Kelly, who is coming off the disabled list after a biceps strain kept him out of action since mid-March. New York hands the ball to Adam Warren.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1, NESN (Boston), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Joe Kelly (2014: 6-4, 4.20 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Adam Warren (2014: 3-6, 2.97)
Kelly last pitched March 16 against the New York Mets in Grapefruit League action before he was forced to leave with a right biceps injury that caused him to miss the rest of spring training. After arriving in Boston via a trade with St. Louis last season, he won a pair of starts against the Yankees despite allowing seven runs on 14 hits and six walks in 14 innings. The 26-year-old surrendered nine runs and 17 hits in 7 1/3 innings this spring.
Warren was a reliable option out of the bullpen last year, ranking second on the Yankees in games pitched (69) and showcasing dominance at home, where he was 3-1 with a 1.73 ERA and had all three of his saves. The 27-year-old made three starts in his career and has given up eight runs and 14 hits in 10 1/3 innings in that role. Warren yielded only one run in 12 1/3 frames against Boston last year.
WALK-OFFS
1. Boston 1B Mike Napoli is 0-for-13 with five strikeouts this season.
2. Yankees 3B Chase Headley, whose solo homer with two outs in the ninth forced extra innings Friday, is 2-for-5 with two walks against Kelly.
3. Red Sox OF/1B Daniel Nava is 4-for-9 with a home run, two doubles and two walks against Warren.