Yastrzemski homers in debut at Fenway — Giants blow lead but win 76 in 15.
Outfielder hits storybook homer in Fenway Park debut
BOSTON — Carl Yastrzemski, looking more like an average Joe in a red windbreaker than a Hall of Famer, stood in front of the visiting dugout at Fenway Park on Tuesday and said he knew his grandson Mike had the goods to be a majorleaguer.
Only one thing surprised the longtime Red Sox left fielder, who said, “I didn’t expect all this power.”
On cue, in his first game at the park, he cherished as a child, Mike Yastrzemski provided that rare moment that matches the hype. He blasted a 96mph fastball from Nathan Eovaldi over the centerfield fence for a you’vegottobekidding home run in the fourth inning that even Red Sox fans had to cheer.
Yastrzemski’s 20th of the season gave the Giants a 51 lead, which they blew in a marathon that ended in the 15th inning, just after 1 a.m. EDT, with San Francisco winning 76.
Pinchhitter Alex Dickerson hit a oneout sacrifice fly to score Donovan Solano, who hit a bloop double and advanced on a Trevor Kelley wild pitch.
The Giants set a franchise record by using 13 pitchers. The last was Dereck Rodriguez, who pitched two innings for the win.
Yastrzemski went 2for7 with a walk in a game that featured two blown Giants leads. They scored in the 13th when Brandon Crawford doubled home Kevin Pillar, but Kyle Barraclough, the Giants’ fourth pitcher in the inning, walked home the tying run.
For the first time since 1983, the last of Carl Yastrzemski’s 23 seasons as Boston’s left fielder, the Fenway Yaz homer counter ticked up. It now reads 238: 237 for Carl, one for Mike.
It was not entirely clear whether Carl saw the homer. He spent time with Mike before batting practice, greeting his grandson with a hug before they recorded a segment for MLB Network, but the 80yearold supposedly told some folks he was going home before the game, which he often does after a pregame appearance.
He will return Wednesday to toss the ceremonial first pitch and supposedly will stay for the game.
Manager Bruce Bochy, an old softie, made sure to start Yastrzemski in left field and bat him leadoff.
The rookie got a standing ovation from the crowd as he stepped in for his first atbat. He knew it was coming because he understands what his name means in this part of the country. He gave some thought to how he would treat it.
“It’ll be cool,” he said. “I don’t get wrapped up in moments very easily. I’ve trained my whole life to block out situations, crowd noise and stuff like that. I think tonight I need to take a step back and get lost in one of the moments and let me appreciate that and experience it.
“Then we can get back to business and play baseball.”
Initially, business was bad. After the ovation, Eovaldi struck Yastrzemski out on four pitches at 98 or 99 mph. Yastrzemski managed to hit one foul.
Brandon Belt then hit Eovaldi’s first pitch for a homer that hit the top of the Green Monster and bounced over.
Yastrzemski drew a leadoff walk to start a threerun rally in the third. Stephen Vogt (double), Pillar (infield out) and Crawford (single) got the RBIs.
The Giants had two outs in the fourth when Yastrzemski joined Pillar as the club’s first multiple 20homer hitters in five seasons.
The 51 lead did not last. Logan Webb, who had a mixed night, allowed a Jackie Bradley Jr. solo homer in the fifth, then was pulled after Sam Travis’ leadoff triple in the sixth. Doubles by Mitch Moreland and Chrstian Vazquez against Andrew Suarez, and a Vogt passed ball, tied the game 55.
The pregame scene was staged, though still cool: the two Yastrzemskis walking slowly together toward the Monster, talking about this or that.
Moments before, Carl was asked what it will mean to see his grandson play at Fenway, as he did for 23 seasons.
“I think the only way I can compare it to anything would be if I compared it to the 1967 season,” he said. “That’s what it means to me, him being here, the first time the Yastrzemski name will be introduced here since 1983.”
That was quite a statement, given what the 1967 “Impossible Dream” season meant to the city of Boston, the Red Sox, their fans and Yastrzemski, who won the American League Triple Crown and led the Sox to the World Series.
Mike Yastrzemski’s trip to Boston was as big a deal as advertised. During a 10minute news conference before batting practice, he was lost in a mob of about 30 reporters and photographers inside the puny visiting dugout.
Mike said the most special part of playing at Fenway is having so many friends and relatives from the Boston area able to watch him here.
Carl offered some insight into his grandson’s thoughts as he was stuck in the Orioles’ system for six minorleague seasons before getting his first taste of the majors with the Giants this year.
“I think being traded to the San Francisco organization changed his whole attitude about playing baseball,” Carl said. “I think the manager and hitting coach in Sacramento (Dave Brundage and Damon Minor) did a great job with him. I know he was very happy with them. I think that helped a lot.”
As soon as Mike was promoted to the big leagues, his family reminded him that the Giants were coming to Boston in September, but he could not afford to look forward to this day.
“I kept it very focused on just surviving one more day in the big leagues,” he said. “There had been a lot of turnover on the team, and I knew that they were looking for production. In order to make it to Boston, I had to play well.”
Mike walked to the ballpark himself Tuesday and admitted he was struck by nostalgia from his days growing up near Boston.
“There were a lot of memories of being in the stands for the World Series, being in the stands for the 1999 Home Run Derby and the AllStar Game, being with my family at games,” he said.
“Those things overwhelm you more than actually playing here. Playing here is cool, as part of my job, something I’ve always wanted to do, so that doesn’t really overwhelm me. But being able to do it in a setting where I have so many fond memories with friends and family, and then having them able to be here, that’s special.”