The Yankees and Red Sox opened the season with an extra-innings battle tied 5-5 in the 11th. Boston put Cutter Crawford on the mound, with a ghost runner on second. Josh Donaldson stepped to the plate in his Yankees debut. Boston had a heavy shift on, leaving a big gap up the middle. Crawford threw a 90 mph cutter, setting up the sequence. Donaldson took a 96 mph four-seamer for strike one, then crushed a center-cut cutter up the middle for a walk-off single. Yankees win on opening day.
Donaldson was fired up, screaming as he rounded first. Gleyber Torres and Nestor Cortes were the first to greet him. DJ LeMahieu did the classic hair ruffle. Aaron Hicks made multiple failed attempts to join in, missing JD’s hair every time before settling for a high five. The camera caught several awkward and funny high-five exchanges, with Trevino and Gleyber fumbling a double high five and Higashioka getting ignored. Judge played it cool, waiting for space to give JD a proper dap and hug. Donaldson made the rounds, high-fiving everyone, including a playful stolen high five from Kiner-Falefa.
The vibe around the team looked energized. Hicks and Kiner-Falefa shared a slow arm-in-arm walk-off, while Gerrit Cole’s reaction stood out. He looked fired up at first but reminded everyone to keep it together before celebrating. It gave fans a real feel for the chemistry on this revamped roster.