Watch Yankees and Josh Donaldson walk off Red Sox on Opening Day

Did you give up hope when the New York Yankees were immediately punched in the mouth on Opening Day by the top of the Boston Red Sox order?

Before most fans even got to their seats, the Bombers were down 3-0 thanks to a walk, a Rafael Devers home run, and Xander Bogaerts/JD Martinez scorchers. After a 2021 opener where the winning run was stranded on third base conservatively 87 times, the Yankees and Gerrit Cole managed to find a worse omen for 2022.

Except … they fought back. Over, and over, and over again.

Anthony Rizzo drilled a two-run shot in the bottom of the first. Giancarlo Stanton’s laser in the fourth knotted things up. DJ LeMahieu turned Alex Cora’s in-your-face move to use Garrett Whitlock for three innings into disaster by turning on a high pitch and sending it into the short porch to re-tie the game.

And Aaron Boone, prophetic as ever, sent Gleyber Torres in to knock the ghost runner home after claiming he might just end up taking the biggest at-bat of the game before first pitch.

After Michael King held the fort in the top of the 11th (?!), Josh Donaldson poked one directly up the middle off Kutter Crawford (?!?) to end things.

Goodbye. See ya tomorrow.

Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson walks off Boston Red Sox

Where was Matt Barnes? Who cares?!

Donaldson, LeMahieu, Torres, Rizzo, Stanton and Aaron Judge all alternated moments of brilliance after the fan base’s buzz was harshed by the pregame Judge non-extension news. A game that could’ve — would’ve! — been lost eight separate times in 2021 was, instead, placed directly into the win column.

It’s a long season. But this was a huge win.

Yankees fans will despise Anthony Rizzo’s Aaron Judge extension comments

New York Yankees fans want to be hyped for Opening Day. They do not want to hear Anthony Rizzo say loyalty is dead in the Aaron Judge extension talks.