NEW YORK — Brock Holt kept waiting and waiting, hoping for a chance to play. The longest game — by time — in Boston Red Sox history came and went, and he sat on the bench the whole way.
Finally given an opportunity, he was plenty fresh.
Holt, the only position player on either side who didn’t get into the 19-inning marathon that began Friday night, came back with four hits and three RBI as the Red Sox ran over the Yankees 8-4 Saturday.
“I’m probably not going to do that every time I go in there,” Holt said.
Joe Kelly (1-0) pitched one-hit ball for seven innings. He got the win, and also was able to save Boston’s bullpen.
“He really gave us a shot in the arm,” Red Sox Manager John Farrell said.
Bleary-eyed, the teams started at 1:08 p.m. following a 6-5 Boston victory that finished at 2:13 a.m.
In what became something of a night-day doubleheader, the Red Sox won the rematch in 3 hours, 13 minutes — quite a speed-up from playing 6 hours, 49 minutes, and that didn’t include a 16-minute power outage. Mark Teixeira and Hanley Ramirez were among several regulars out of the lineups after playing all 19 innings.
Holt had batted just once this season and was ready to pinch run for David Ortiz or play the outfield if needed in the long win, but his number wasn’t called.
“The situation never came up,” he said.
Farrell, however, told Holt he’d be in the lineup Saturday. He batted leadoff, played center field and produced. Holt hit three singles and added a three-run double in the eighth that glanced off right fielder Garrett Jones’ glove.
Kelly came off the 15-day disabled list for his season debut. Wanting to be fresh, he left Yankee Stadium in the 10th inning Friday night and fell asleep around the 15th.
Kelly woke up Saturday, checked his phone and saw that Boston had won in the 19th.
His reaction? “Holy crud,” he said.
Kelly retired his final 17 batters, starting with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Didi Gregorius in the second and leaving with an 8-1 lead.
Kelly had been sidelined by a strain in his right biceps. He struck out eight and gave up a solid single to Alex Rodriguez in the second.
Adam Warren (0-1) allowed one earned run in 51/3 innings. Chris Young homered off reliever Alexi Ogando in the eighth.
Rodriguez played first base for the first time in the majors, and his error helped Boston take a 1-0 lead in the second. He let a low throw from the hole by Gregorius bounce off the heel of his glove, allowing Mike Napoli to reach.
Farrell said he got three hours’ sleep overnight and was back in the clubhouse by 8:30 a.m. Boston’s team bus to the ballpark was pushed back, and players on both sides trickled into the locker rooms an hour or two later than usual.
The teams needed nearly 30 dozen baseballs and 628 pitches for their previous meeting.
By the time it ended, the scoreboard showed empty slots in case the game went 27 innings.
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