LyfLines: A memorable Good Friday home opener

A week-and-half ago, Jim Baker wrote a column on memorable Good Friday games in MLB history (subscriber only, I think). But he missed my favorite, and I'm reminded of it again by Chris Lynch's game story on the Sox Yankee opener.

Randy Johnson pitched the home opener at Fenway back in '98 when he was still with Seattle. The Mariners were up by seven going into the seventh so me and my buddy Brian and I decided to leave for wetter pastures (they stop serving at Fenway after the seventh). I ended up seeing the Red Sox come back in dramatic fashion - capped off by a Mo Vaughn grand slam to win the game - from the friendly confines of Copperfields. That was a great day.

That game was April 10, 1998, and it was Good Friday. There are some games that stick with you for what happened, and some that stick with you because of where you were. For me, it was both.

The Red Sox started that game at 3:00, with the idea of playing it between noon services and evening services. And Johnson was very good for eight innings. Red Sox starter Brian Rose only gave up 3 (2 earned) through 5 1/3, but the bullpen allowed the Mariners 2 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th, so the Mariners took a 7-2 lead into the bottom of the 9th.

At the time, I was in my car. I needed to be at church at 6:30 to warm up for singing the evening service, and had left work a little early to listen, and in case of traffic. I'd passed Fenway on the Mass Turnpike, seeing the crowd and the center field Jumbotron, and made my way over to Beacon Hill. And I had about half an hour before I had to be at church, so I pulled to the curb in a non-parking space beside the Saltonstall building to listen to the end of the game, without much optimism, but knowing that the Sox still had a chance because of the awful Seattle bullpen, and the awful handling of same by Lou Pinella.

In the middle of the 1997 season, Dan Duquette had made one of the greatest trades in baseball history, sending Boston "closer" Heathcliff Slocumb to Seattle for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe. Though he'd failed to settle the Mariner bullpen in 1997, he was still there in 1998. And he was the first one out of the bullpen. But not the last.

Troy O'leary, pinch-hitting for Damon Buford, led off the Boston 9th with a single, which was followed by a walk to Mark Lemke. When Darren Bragg doubled, that was it for Slocumb, as Tony Fossas was brought in to face pinch-hitter Scott Hatteberg, who was then pinch-hit for by Mike Benjamin (!) who walked. With the bases loaded, it was Mike Timlin's turn to face Nomar. Nomar drove in the Red Sox 4th run with a single, then the 5th scored when Timlin hit John Valentin. Another Pinella trip to the mound resulted in lefty Paul Spoljaric facing lefty Mo Vaughn, and that resulted in a blast into the right field grandstand that gave the Red Sox a dramatic walk-off 9-7 win.