The Yankees scripted everything they could about Opening Day at the new Yankee Stadium, from trotting out legendary players to having Ronan Tynan sing “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch.
PHOTOS: OPENING DAY AT NEW STADIUM
One thing they couldn’t control, however, was the score.
And after the Indians christened the park with a 10-2 drubbing of the Yanks, the visitors didn’t apologize.
When asked if it was special to have beaten the Yankees on their big day, Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore said with a smile, “A little bit.
“The way the fans were, it’s always a tough environment to be in and to take their home opener at the new stadium, it’s good. And we needed the win, too.”
Sizemore played a significant role in the victory — the Indians’ second in a row after an ugly 1-7 start — as his seventh-inning grand slam off of Damaso Marte basically ended whatever hopes the Yankees may have had. The Yanks trailed 9-1 at that point and soon many of the fans that had come for the historic day departed.
“To open the ballpark like that is something I’ll always remember,” Sizemore said. “We tried not to let everything that was going on bother us.”
The attitude worked, and the team’s performance didn’t surprise Cleveland manager Eric Wedge.
“They’ve been on this stage before,” he said before the game of the Indians, many of whom have postseason experience. “I think our guys are beyond that and won’t be affected.”
Clearly, they weren’t.
In fact, they seemed pretty comfortable in the Yankees’ new digs in The Bronx. The Indians pounded out five doubles and two home runs in the win. If anyone didn’t look good, it was the Yankees’ bullpen.
“This reminds me of the old Yankee Stadium and I like that,” Wedge said. “It was definitely a different environment today.”
Especially for the sellout crowd of 48,271, which went home unhappy.
“It’s always fun to come to New York and play,” Sizemore said. “But this was even better.”
Those fans likely would disagree.