LONDON _ As introductions go, this initial U.K. meeting between the Yankees and Red Sox was about as unique as it gets.
And this was after all the pregame trappings, including clubhouse visits by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
On a hot and humid early evening at London Stadium, the first inning of MLB's first-ever game in Europe took a whopping 58 minutes to play.
In an unintentional bow to their hosts, the long-standing rivals played at the pace of a cricket match _ starting with each team scoring six runs in the first and both starters failing to make it through the inning.
But after Brett Gardner's go-ahead, two-run homer in the third, the Yankees put together another six-run inning in the fourth, on the way to an NFL-esque 17-13 victory that threatened to be the longest nine-inning game in MLB history.
The British fans were treated to a two-run opposite field homer by Aaron Judge, capping the fourth-inning scoring.
And DJ LeMahieu's swing was just as potent across the pond, delivering a three-run double _ as well as the first base hit of the London Series, which concludes on Sunday.
But the U.K. observers might have been wondering if there was a defensive element to this American game during an endless first inning.
Boston's Rick Porcello gave up run-scoring doubles to Luke Voit, Netherlands-born Didi Gregorius (2 RBIs) and Edwin Encarnacion before being knocked out by Aaron Hicks' two-run homer.
Voit had four hits, including three doubles, but exited after an apparent leg injury while rounding first base during the fifth inning.
Masahiro Tanaka managed to record two outs but surrendered the first of two three-run homers hit Saturday by Michael Chavis, which tied the game and concluded the business portion of Tanaka's first London trip.
In all, the two teams sent 20 batters to the plate and tallied 12 runs on 10 hits _ six for extra bases _ on a sweltering 92-degree day at first pitch (6:10 p.m. local time), the hottest recorded this year in the U.K.
