Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees celebrates a walkoff home run against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)Long after their nights on the field were over, A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett remained in their dugouts, riveted by all the zeros on the Yankee Stadium scoreboard.
Most of the fans were still in their seats, hoping for a hit. Maybe even a run.
Alex Rodriguez ended the longest ever scoreless duel between long-time rivals Boston and New York in the 15th inning with his first homer in three weeks, giving the hometown Yankees a 2-0 victory over the Red Sox late Friday night.
"This would've been a very hard game to lose," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Nobody left. It just shows the importance of the game."
Once the game entered the 15th inning, it became the longest scoreless matchup between the teams in history. Rodriguez's two-out homer came five hours and 33 minutes after the start and was off Boston's eighth pitcher, Junichi Tazawa, making his major-league debut.
Derek Jeter singled leading off the 15th against Tazawa (0-1), who was signed out of a Japanese industrial league and called up Friday after the Red Sox cut John Smoltz.
After two outs, Rodriguez lined a shot into the bullpen in left-centre for his 20th homer of the year, giving New York its 10th walkoff win of the season.
Heavyweight fight
The Yankees' fifth straight victory touched off a raucous celebration on the field and in the stands, as many of the 48,262 in attendance at the new ballpark remained in their seats while the tense game breezed past midnight, ending at 12:42 a.m.
A-Rod threw his hands in the air as he rounded first, and the Yankees bounded out of the dugout to mob the slugger for a head-slapping party at home plate, complete with a whipped-cream pie from Burnett.
"Both teams were remarkable," Rodriguez said. "It was a heavyweight fight, and we were fortunate to have the last hit."
The homer was Rodriguez's first since July 19, a span of 72 at-bats, which is his worst drought within a single season. He was 1-for-6 before connecting and now has 573 career home runs, tying Harmon Killebrew for ninth place on baseball's all-time list.
"As far as making my major-league debut, I'm very happy. I was honoured to be in such an important situation," Tazawa said through an interpreter. "I wish I could have done a little better."
A day after New York bashed Boston and Smoltz 13-6 in a game that ended testily, Burnett and Beckett set the tone for a Yankees-Red Sox matchup that went into extra innings scoreless for the first time since 1976.
Burnett allowed a leadoff single, and five relievers finished New York's four-hitter. Phil Coke (3-3) worked the 15th for the Yankees' second consecutive win over Boston after nine losses, dating to last season.
New York is 2-8 against Boston this season.
The Red Sox, who have lost four in a row, gave the crowd a scare in the 14th when Victor Martinez hit a high-arcing drive that Eric Hinske caught just in front of the wall in right field, eliciting a collective sigh from the fans.
"It was a tough night offensively," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "It was a tough night for them, too."
Jeter came through after going hitless in his first six at-bats and failing in three opportunities with runners on third — twice against Beckett.
Boston's Dustin Pedroia lazily flied out three times with runners on base, and Martinez was 0-for-6. The teams combined to go 0 for 19 with runners in scoring position.
"It was a really weird night," Pedroia said. "It's not like we're not trying."
