The first game of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox rivalry in the 2016 season lived up to the expectations and then some.

Fenway Park was buzzing with the first contest between these two bitter rivals, but that lasted only until Alex Rodriguez launched his fourth home run of the season over the centerfield wall in the second inning.  Brett Gardner would get to Sox starter Henry Owens as well with an RBI single that plated Didi Gregorius to make it 2-0 in favor of the Bronx Bombers early on.  Owens would last six innings, allowing just two runs to keep the Sox within distance.

Masahiro Tanaka was shutting down the Red Sox as he allowed just three hits through his first six innings.  Tanaka would face some trouble in the seventh as he gave up two runs and was chased from the game on a Jackie Bradley Jr two-run double.  Xander Bogaerts would later lead off the eighth inning with a base hit before David Ortiz took a hanging breaking ball from Dellin Betances over the Green Monster to give Boston the 4-2 lead.  Craig Kimbrel came on for the save in the top of the ninth inning and pitched a perfect frame to seal the win.

The Red Sox improve their record to 13-10 on the season while the Yankees drop down to 8-13 and currently reside in the bottom of the American League East.

The second game of the series gets underway tomorrow with the pitching match-up featuring Michael Pineda (1-2, 6.95 ERA) versus Rick Porcello (4-0, 3.51 ERA).  First pitch from Fenway Park is set for 7:10 p.m.

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