It might have felt as hot as it’s been all year here in the Valley of the Sun, but there was Fall baseball on the tube as MLB Network broadcast the Red Sox-Yankees game live from the Bronx. I put some dogs and burgers on the grill to have with my Mom’s winning potato salad recipe and Tracey and I sat down to enjoy our first baseball game watched together this year. We didn’t subscribe to DirecTV’s MLB Extra Innings package this year (too expensive) so all we can do is catch the Red Sox whenever the MLB Network shows them. And when it’s the Yankees they’re playing, it’s a can’t-miss proposition.

Like most Red Sox – Yankees games this one didn’t disappoint in terms of drama and length. Those who long to see a breezy and efficiently-played 3-hour game are just not going to get it when these two teams hook up – both teams take a lot of pitches, and the games are usually so closely-played that there are a lot of pitching changes. Not to mention the fact it seems like every other game these teams play goes into extra innings. The Sox got off to a fast start tonight, chasing the usually-reliable reliable Ivan Nova after four innings and at one time had a 7-2 lead. Tracey thought the game in the bag but I had to caution her that when it’s the Yankees no lead is safe, and sure enough, between some questionable (i.e., stupid) moves by manager John Farrell (leaving Peavy in to start the 7th, playing a shift against Alfonso Soriano) and some clutch Yankee hitting they came back to take the lead. Tracey was beside herself, but if there’s one thing this year’s Red Sox team has shown almost from the start it is resiliency. They may not be flashy with a lot of household names, but they’ve been getting the job done all year long.

The 9th inning was like a throwback to that incredible fourth game of the 2004 playoffs; the names were different (replace Dave Roberts and Bill Mueller with Quinten Berry and Stephen Drew) but the results the same. The incomparable Mariano Rivera once again blew a save, and in the bottom of the inning Alfonso Soriano – who was lucky to have not gotten picked off of first to begin with – made the bonehead play of the year and got picked off of second base with Curtis Granderson and A-Rod coming up. Can’t even imagine what he was thinking. An inning later, the Sox score and the reliable Koji Uehara shuts the Yankees down 1-2-3, and you’ve the most discouraging Yankee loss of the year. Couldn’t happen to a nice bunch of guys.

Tonight’s game was an important one for the Bronx Bombers. Had they come from behind to take the first game of this four-game series they would have really made a statement and perhaps put the Sox back on their heels going into the weekend. Instead they’re nine games out of first place, and while 3.5 games back in the wild card race isn’t insurmountable by any means, when you have a chance for a big comeback win like they did tonight and lose it can’t help but deflate your sails a little bit. You get to this time of year, and every win counts.

It was great game to watch and, the heat outside notwithstanding, for just a few hours tonight it felt like Fall.

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UPDATE: Modified the post title to make it sound more like a Phil Spector song title. Hey, it’s not like others have paid tribute to Phil in a similar fashion.