Hideki Okajima (1-0) got two outs for the win, then Ramon Ramirez got out of the eighth after putting runners on second and third with one out. Dustin Pedroia had three hits and Jacoby Ellsbury hit his first homer of the year for Boston.
Robinson Cano homered twice and drove in five for the Yankees, and Jonathan Albaladejo (1-1) - the fourth of seven New York pitchers - took the loss.
In all, 12 pitchers threw 385 pitches in a 4 hour, 21 minute game and managed to retire the side in order just twice - once for each team. Yankees star Jorge Posada was called for catcher's interference and a passed ball in the same inning; Pedroia - the 2008 AL MVP - had a two-run error and got thrown out on a baserunning bungle.
Jason Bay hit a two-run double to give the Red Sox an 8-6 lead as the teams swapped leads four times in fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Johnny Damon tied it with a two-run homer. After David Ortiz's sacrifice fly put Boston on top, the Yankees took a 10-9 lead when Damon hit a hard grounder through Pedroia's legs at second base.
The Yankees intentionally walked Bay, whose two-run homer with two out in the ninth helped Boston win the night before, in the seventh to get to Lowell. The 2007 World Series MVP homered off Albaladejo inside the foul pole to make it 12-10.
Albaladejo was charged with three runs and two hits with an intentional walk in 1 1-3 innings.
Notes: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, wearing a Red Sox jersey with No. 9.69 on the back for his record time in the 100 meters, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Boston ace Josh Beckett and New York's A.J. Burnett, teammates on the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins, were the starters and neither made it past five innings after giving up eight runs for a no-decision. ... Cano has hit safely in 12 straight games. ... New York's Mark Teixeira walked five times, once intentionally.
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