Red Sox Yankees Fenway Series Opens Right: Boston Takes Game 1, 6-3

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The Red Sox Yankees Fenway series is here, and Boston took the opener 6-3 on Thursday night. If you needed a reason to pay attention to this struggling Red Sox squad for a few days, Caleb Durbin just handed you one. He sent a two-run homer into the first row of the Green Monster seats in the fifth inning, broke a tie, and gave Boston the lead for good in front of 36,307 fans.

The Red Sox Yankees Fenway opener came with some built-in context. Boston had just flown back from Denver, and their charter flight did not land until 6 a.m. Thursday morning. They got maybe six hours of sleep. Then they went to Fenway Park and beat the first-place Yankees 6-3. That is a professional baseball team doing what it has to do.

How the Red Sox Yankees Fenway Opener Actually Played Out

New York took a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning. Jasson Dominguez drove in a run with a single. Jose Caballero added his eighth homer of the season. Yankees starter Cam Schlittler was pitching well and the game had the feel of one Boston was going to quietly drop.

Then the Red Sox Yankees Fenway fifth inning happened. Boston put together a four-run rally, assisted in large part by four Yankee errors on the night. Durbin came into the game with his left pinkie dislocated from the previous day in Colorado. He played through it, stepped in against Schlittler, and launched a shot into the Green Monster seats for his fifth homer of the month. The two-run blast put Boston ahead 4-2 and the comeback was complete.

Connelly Early got the win on the mound. He struck out a season-high nine batters, allowed five hits, walked two, and went six innings. Early improved to 7-5. Aroldis Chapman came on in the ninth and picked up his 15th save of the season, though not before pitching coach Andrew Bailey was ejected by first-base umpire Tyler Jones in the ninth inning.

Schlittler absorbed the loss despite lowering his ERA from 1.71 to 1.62. He allowed four runs, none earned, on five hits with nine strikeouts. The errors behind him did him in.

What the Red Sox Yankees Fenway Series Means Right Now

The standings are not going to pretend otherwise. The Yankees came into this Red Sox Yankees Fenway series at 48-32, sitting on top of the American League East. Boston is 33-46, sitting 14.5 games back. This is not a playoff race. The Red Sox are not catching New York this year.

But the Red Sox Yankees Fenway series has never needed a pennant race to matter. These four games mean something to the city regardless of the standings, regardless of ERA figures or on-base percentages. The rivalry runs deeper than any single season, and Fenway Park in late June with the Yankees in town is one of those things Boston gets every year whether the team is good or not.

New York swept a three-game series at Fenway back in April. Boston has not beaten the Yankees at home this season until Thursday night. The 6-3 win does not close the standings gap, but it does something for a team that has had a difficult year in the AL East.

Game 2 is Friday night at 7:10 p.m. The Yankees will send Will Warren to the mound. Warren is 7-2 with a 3.45 ERA and is one of the better starters in the American League this year. The Red Sox counter with Payton Tolle, who comes in at 3-4 with a 3.08 ERA. The matchup on paper favors New York, but Boston proved Thursday that paper does not matter much when Durbin is locked in and the Green Monster is in play.

Three More Red Sox Yankees Fenway Games to Watch This Weekend

Boston has three more Red Sox Yankees Fenway chances to make something of this series. Game 3 is Saturday at 1:10 p.m. and airs on ABC. Game 4 is Sunday at 7:20 p.m. on NBC and Peacock. Taking two of four from the division leader would be a meaningful statement from a team that has had a rough first half of the season.

Caleb Durbin put his dislocated finger in the lineup and hit a bomb into the Monster seats. That is the tone Boston has set. Take two or three of four, and this team goes into the All-Star break with real momentum. Lose the next three and it becomes a forgettable week.

What is your call on the Red Sox Yankees Fenway series? Can Boston take it, or does New York run away with it? Drop your take in the comments.