Red Sox outlast Yanks; Boston rips Rivera in 9th, wins game in 10th.

• Author: Walker, Ben
• Position: Sports

Byline: Ben Walker

NEW YORK -- Stephen Drew hit a tying single off Mariano Rivera with two outs in the ninth inning, then Shane Victorino lined a go-ahead single in the 10th that sent the Red Sox past the New York Yankees, 9-8, in a Thursday night thriller.

Down to their last strike against Rivera, the Red Sox rallied in the opener of a four-game series loaded with playoff implications.

It felt like a playoff matchup, too, especially after New York erased a 7-2 deficit with six runs in the seventh. There were plenty of pitching changes, pinch-hitters and pinch-runners, plus an outburst -- Joba Chamberlain (2-1) was ejected by first base umpire Joe West, who ruled Victorino checked his swing right before the deciding hit.

Before the game, Major League Baseball sent a ''heads-up'' notice to the umpires working the series between the Red Sox and Yankees, reminding the crew that the teams had a dust-up the last time they played.

The Red Sox visited Yankee Stadium Thursday night in their first game since Boston's Ryan Dempster hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch on Aug. 18. That caused the teams to tussle at Fenway Park, and Dempster was suspended for five games.

West, the crew chief, said it has been standard protocol for MLB for a decade or so to give advance notice to crews when clubs are meeting for the first time since having trouble.

West said the umpires were recently sent an email advising them that there was a ''heads-up'' for this series.

''It's good that they let the crews know, not just for this series but for anytime there have been problems,'' he said.

''All of the umpires are aware there was a throwing incident involving the Red Sox and Yankees.''

Asked whether he would issue a warning to both teams prior to the first pitch, West said: ''Everyone is aware of what happened.''

Boston manager John Farrell said he didn't think there would be any retaliation for Dempster's pitch during the four-game series, and there wasn't...