London Series: Is There Potential, or Should MLB ‘Let it Be’?
By Zach Bush
This weekend, the Yankees and Red Sox played in the London Series in the heart of the United Kingdom, the first MLB games in history played on European soil.
In the first affair of the London Series, rivals Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees scored six runs apiece in the first inning alone, knocking out the opposing team’s starters before they could record three outs.
Fox MLB commentators Joe Buck and John Smoltz joked that the spectators in attendance were used to such lengthy on-field performances from the sport of cricket, a game from which baseball evolved in America in the 19th century that can sometimes go on for a period of days.
After the Red Sox and Yankees bullpens found a way to cobble together near-complete games following the extremely early exits from starters Rick Porcello and Masahiro Tanaka respectively, it was ultimately the Yanks who pulled out the 17-13 victory in the first of two matches in Great Britain.
In Game 2, which aired on ESPN in America at 10:10 am Eastern, 7:10 am Pacific, the runs came together in a similar way to the night before: the Yankees jump out to a huge lead early, and the Red Sox spend the rest of the game trying to claw their way back.
In both cases though, it was to no avail. New York took the second game by a score of 12-8 and swept the two-game series. Both games took over four hours to finish, the two teams combined for 65 hits, and the combined run total clocked in at a staggering 50 runs.
Those in attendance definitely got their money’s worth.