It took them 19 innings & 6 hours and 49 minutes, but the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 6-5 in their first regular season meeting in 2015. Those 409 minutes were the longest in Red Sox history. And yes, I watched the whole thing and kept score of the game.

Going into the sixth, the Sox had a 3-0 lead. Wade Miley was pitching magnificently in his Sox debut. But he had been sitting on the bench for 27 minutes while the Sox scored two measly runs. But Miley lost his command giving up two runs on two hits and two walks.

But the Sox still had a 3-2 lead in the 9th with but one out to go. However, Chase Headley had other ideas and took Edward Mujica deep to tie the game. 

In the middle of the 12th, the game was delayed for nearly half an hour because a bank of lights went out at Yankee Stadium.

The impassed would remain until the 16th inning when David Ortiz hit his first home run of the season off Esmil Rogers to give the Sox a 4-3 lead.

But in the bottom of the inning, Mark Teixeira answered back with a home run of his own off knuckleballer Steven Wright to tie the game back at 4-4. Less than hour before hitting the home run, Teixeira turned 35.

The Sox took a 5-4 lead on a single by Pablo Sandoval in the top of the 18th. But this lead also proved to be shortlived as Hanley Ramirez misread a fly ball which resulted in a double for Carlos Beltran. The game was tied yet again at 5-5.

Then along came the 19th inning. Xander Bogaerts led off with a single. It was his fourth straight hit in extra innings. Bogaerts stole second and then Ryan Hanigan walked. Hanigan and Bogaerts would advance to second and third on a passed ball by back up catcher John Ryan Murphy.

Mookie Betts came up to the plate. He was 1 for 8 with a walk and had struck out five times including his last three at bats. Betts hit a fly ball to former Red Sox centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. It was good enough to score Bogaerts to give the Sox a 6-5 lead.

Ellsbury would lead off the bottom of the 19th with a single. It looked like deja vu all over again yet again. But Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia turned a spectacular double play on Garrett Jones to bring the game to a satisfactory conclusion.

I do wish it had gone one more inning though. This is the fourth time I’ve seen a 19-inning game from start to finish. The first of which took place between the Red Sox and Mariners in 2000. In 2011, I saw a 19-inning affair between the Phillies and Reds during an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball telecast. Last season, the Red Sox and Angels also turned in a 19-inning marathon. 

Well, I can look forward to a long night of sleep. The same cannot be said of the Red Sox and Yankees who will take the field in just over 10 hours from now.