It took both teams very little time to flex their offensive power Saturday, plating a combined 12 runs by the end of the opening inning of this weekend’s two-game series at London Stadium. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the first time in the history of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry that both teams have scored six runs in the first inning of a series game.
The Chavis long ball did to Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka what Hicks’ blast did to Porcello: chased him from the game. Both pitchers combined to record only three outs, while facing 15 batters. They also gave up a combined nine hits.
Elias also reports that the combined three outs pitched by Porcello and Tanaka is the fewest ever by starters in a Yankees-Red Sox game. The previous combined low was five outs tossed by Bill Bevens (two outs) for the Yankees and Tommy Fine (three outs) for the Red Sox on May 11, 1947.
he first inning took 58 minutes to play. By comparison, the teams played an entire game in 2 hours, 23 minutes on April 16 at Yankee Stadium — the fastest game this season between the rivals, who are notorious for having played six-hour games in the past.
This weekend’s London Series marks the first visit by Major League Baseball to Europe.
As part of Saturday’s pomp and circumstance, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, participated in the pregame first-pitch ceremonies. The first pitches were thrown to Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and Red Sox starter Chris Sale by Invictus Games competitors.
