Derek Jeter opened the season against Beckett by grounding out to short to begin. Nick Johnson flied out to Mike Cameron on the centerfield warning track before Mark Teixeira grounded out to Kevin Youkilis unassisted to end the inning. CC Sabathia got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jacoby Ellsbury greeted him by lining out to center to begin. Dustin Pedroia struck out swinging on a high fastball before Victor Martinez grounded out to first off the first base bag to end the inning.
The Sox fought back in the bottom of the second as Kevin Youkilis led off with a double off the scoreboard. Youk moved to third on a grounder by David Ortiz before Granderson robbed Adrian Beltre of a double with a jumping catch at the wall. Still, the fly out was long enough to score Youk with a sac fly to cut the lead. JD Drew watched strike three go by to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
Johnson walked to open the top of the third before Teixeira popped up to right. A-Rod banged into a double play to end the inning. Mike Cameron made his Sox debut by walking to begin the bottom of the third but was doubled off on a Marco Scutaro liner to third. Ellsbury grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Yankees embarrassed the Sox in the top of the fourth as Ellsbury just missed a Cano line drive off the wall for a double. Cano moved to third on the Posada grounder and stayed there momentarily as Granderson grounded out to first. Swisher drew a walk and Gardner ripped a base hit to left to score Cano. Jeter singled past the diving Scutaro to score Swisher with another run and advance Gardner to third. All of a sudden Jeter took off for second and Martinez threw down with Gardner coming home. V-Mart's throw wasn't close and Gardner slid in safe with a steal of home as Jeter took second. Yankee fans laughed at the Red Sox fans as Johnson took a backdoor curve to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 5-1.
The Sox rolled over in the bottom of the fourth as Pedroia was called out on a bang bang play by umpire Angel Hernandez on a grounder to first. V-Mart grounded out to third before Youk popped up to short to end the inning.
The Yankees knocked Beckett out in the top of the fifth inning although Teixeira flied out to center to start. A-Rod popped up to second but Cano singled off the right field wall. Posada walked and Sox manager Terry Francona had seen enough. Beckett looked awful and Francona wisely pulled him after 4 2/3 innings, 5 runs allowed and 94 pitches. Scott Schoenweis made his Sox debut by uncorking a wild pitch that moved the runners along. ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller revealed Scott's wife died and Scott spent time on the Disabled List for depression because of it. Now he's back in the majors and he struck out Granderson to end the inning.
The Sox began their comeback in the bottom of the fifth although Ortiz popped up to third. Beltre whiffed on a low change but Drew lined a base hit to left. Cameron also lined a base hit to left and Scutaro got the Sox third straight hit to left. Drew came around to score and Gardner's throw sailed, allowing Marco to reach second with Cameron moving to third. Ellsbury watched strike three go by to end the inning with the Sox down 5-2.
Schoenweis returned briefly for the top of the sixth inning as Swisher grounded out to short to start. Gardner popped up to center and that was it for Schoenweis. Ramon Ramirez made his season debut by allowing a base hit to center by Jeter. Johnson lined out to center to end the inning.
The Sox rallied in the bottom of the sixth as Pedroia walked to start. V-Mart doubled down the left field line and Youk ripped a triple past Swisher in right to score both runners. Ortiz broke his bat on a grounder to second and that was it for Sabathia. David Robertson came on and Beltre greeted him with a base hit to center to score Youk to tie the game. Drew grounded out to first and Cameron grounded out to third to end the inning but the Sox had tied it 5-5.
The Yankees wasted no time taking the lead back in the top of the seventh as Teixeira led off with a walk. A-Rod doubled off the Monster to chase Ramirez. Hideki Okajima came in and Cano scored Teixeira with a ground out to second. Posada increased the lead with a base hit up the middle and Granderson drew a walk. Swisher banged into a double play to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 7-5.
The Sox came out swinging in the bottom of the seventh against Chan Ho Park as Scutaro singled up the middle to start. Ellsbury took strike three but Pedroia tied the game up with a home run into the Monster Seats, lighting up the crowd. V-Mart grounded out to second but Youk doubled off the Monster to chase Park. Damaso Marte came in and a wild pitch moved Youk to third. Ortiz walked to chase Park as Joba Chamberlain came in to face Beltre. Adrian grounded into a force to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 8-7.
"Flamethrower" Daniel Bard came in for the top of the eighth and got Gardner to ground out to second to start. Jeter grounded out to first but Johnson walked. Randy Winn ran for Johnson but Teixeira grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox hit the killshot in the bottom of the eighth although Drew grounded out to third to start. Cameron lashed a base hit to center before Scutaro drew a walk. Ellsbury lined out to center but Pedroia stroked a base hit to right, scoring Cameron with the insurance run. V-Mart lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-7
Jon Papelbon came out to close the game in the top of the ninth inning. A-Rod grounded out to third before Cano lined out to a running Ellsbury. Posada dumped a base hit to center to bring the tying run to the plate but Granderson grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox had beaten the champs 9-7 on Opening Day.
Hero of The Night is Dustin Pedroia. He tied the game with a big two run jack and hit the killshot in the 8th inning.
The Good:
Kevin Youkilis was 3 for 4 with 2 rbis and 3 runs scored.
Adrian Beltre was 1 for 3 with 2 rbis.
Mike Cameron was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Marco Scutaro was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Scott Schoenweis tossed one full scoreless inning.
Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Jonathan Papelbon earned his first save of the season with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Josh Beckett was awful in his season debut, allowing 5 runs in just 4 2/3 innings off 8 hits and 3 walks.
Ramon Ramirez was charged with 2 runs in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Victor Martinez was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
David Ortiz was 0 for 3 but walked.
JD Drew was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Hideki Okajima got the win but allowed two inherited runners to score in an inning of work.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing like beating the Yankees on Opening Day. Its going to be a long year but to get off on the right foot is never a bad thing. The Sox were able to fight back after Beckett clearly didn't have it. The combination of Bard and Papelbon could be devastating in the later innings this season. If Beltre can rediscover his form from 2005, this could be a deadly team that rivals 2007. All of those are huge ifs but what's a fact is the Sox beat the Yankees tonight. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox look to make it two in a row against the Yankees on Tuesday night. Jon Lester makes his season debut opposite AJ Burnett at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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