June 29- New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox face off in Europe
2019- On this day in Sports History, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees played the first ever Major League Baseball game in Europe. The game was held on June 29, 2019 in front of 59,000 fans at London Olympic Stadium in London, England. It was the 2,200th regular season meeting between the two teams. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 17-13 in the high run scoring game. The game is also the first MLB game since 1989 that both starting pitchers failed to make it out of the first inning.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred decided to bring a game to Europe to hopefully promote the game of baseball there. The countries in Europe are not known to be big baseball fans which Manfred is hoping to try and change. One of the obstacles they face is there are not many big baseball stadiums in Europe. And unlike the NFL, it takes more work to play baseball in a soccer stadium. This game was the first ever MLB game played in Europe, but MLB plans on coming back each year. The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to return to London in 2020 (cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic).
The Europeans got to witness an abnormal game that finished with the Yankees winning 17-13. Out of the 2,200 games played between the two teams, the 30 combined runs is the second highest ever scored. Both the Yankees and Red Sox scored six runs in the first inning. The Red Sox’s Rick Porcello got just one out while giving up six runs. The Yankees’s Masahiro Tanaka lasted twice as long as Porcello, but he still only got two outs while giving up six runs. The last MLB game where both starting pitchers failed to make it out of the first inning was the Toronto Blue Jays against the Oakland Athletics on June 23, 1989.
After the 6-6 first inning, the Yankees used a two run third inning and a six run fourth inning to take the lead 14-6. The Red Sox scored six more runs in the seventh inning, but still fell 17-13. The Yankees’s Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner, and Aaron Judge all hit a home run. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Michael Chavis (twice) hit home runs for the Red Sox.
With the Yankees and Red Sox game on June 29, 2019 being the first ever game in Europe, they had to incorporate some British elements into the between inning mascot race. Freddie Mercury beat Winston Churchill, King Henry VIII, and the Loch Ness Monster to win the first ever MLB mascot race in Europe. The Yankees won Game 2 12-8 to sweep the two game series in London.
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Sources:
AP. “Yanks, Red Sox Tied 6-6 after 1 Inning in 1st European Game.” Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo!
Nightengale, Bob. “MLB London Series: Commissioner Rob Manfred Wants to Play Games in Other European Cities.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 29 June 2019
“New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox - Box Score - June 29, 2019.” New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox - Box Score - June 29, 2019 | FOX Sports, Fox Sports