“That’s too much drama,’’ Dustin Pedroia said, smiling. “We’re not used to that this early, especially playing the Yankees. On Opening Day you’re always amped up, but against those guys it’s times 100. I think after this series, you take a deep breath, kind of get the season going.’’
And judging from last night’s game — admittedly a rather small sample size — it’s going to be interesting.
Pedroia had played a big role, the ball lofting off his bat and over the Green Monster in the seventh inning, the second straight year the second baseman had taken one out to left on Opening Day. This one brought home Marco Scutaro, tied the game at 7, and recharged the crowd of 37,440 filling Fenway Park for the landmark’s first night season opener. Pedroia was simply making good on his early spring training promise to increase his home run total, helping the Sox and Yankees kick off the season in a fashion only they can provide.
“We’ll hear about that for the next couple days,’’ Mike Cameron joked of Pedroia’s homer.
Pedroia’s shot off Chan Ho Park was followed by Kevin Youkilis’s third extra-base hit, a double off the Wall. Youkilis moved to third on a wild pitch by Damaso Marte, then came home on a passed ball by Jorge Posada. The Sox led, 8-7, though there were no guarantees it would remain that way.
“We’re going to fight,’’ Pedroia said. “You look 1 through 9, we’re going to put good at-bats together. Everyone’s going to go up there and grind out at-bats. If we do that consistently, we’re going to be a really good offensive team.
“That’s why everyone was kind of shocked when they doubted our offense. I know we don’t have the guy hitting 40, 50 home runs. Not a lot of teams do. We’ll try to find ways to score runs other ways.’’
The much-discussed Sox offense already had come back once, handing a tie score to the bullpen in the top of the seventh. It didn’t stick, with Ramon Ramirez allowing the first two base runners and Hideki Okajima helping them home.
