NEW YORK » In the latest classic matchup of their long and illustrious rivalry, the Boston Red Sox finally outlasted the New York Yankees 6-5 in 19 innings early Saturday when the game-ending double play was turned at 2:13 a.m.

After squandering leads in the ninth, 16th and 18th, Boston at last went ahead for good on a sacrifice fly by Mookie Betts. Xander Bogaerts scored the decisive run after reaching on his fourth hit in extra innings.

"It’s a testament to the will and the resiliency of this team," Red Sox manager John Farrell said.

Chase Headley and Mark Teixeira, who turned 35 when the clock struck midnight, hit tying home runs for the Yankees in an early-season epic interrupted by a power outage for 16 minutes in the 12th. That’s why the official time of game was 6 hours, 49 minutes — even though it took more than 7 hours to complete.

After their first meeting of the year, the teams get little chance to rest. They’re back at it for the middle game of the series Saturday at 1:05 p.m.

"It’s one game that seemed like about six, and we’ll move on," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

David Ortiz hit a solo homer for Boston to break a 3-all deadlock in the 16th. But then Teixeira, batting from the right side against right-handed knuckleballer Steven Wright, led off the bottom half with a no-doubt drive to left field.

And on it went.

Pablo Sandoval put the Red Sox back in front with an RBI single in the 18th only to see Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran hit doubles in the bottom half to tie it again at 5.

Each club went to its final reliever in the 15th during the longest game by time in Red Sox history — and the second-longest for the Yankees. They had a 22-inning win at Detroit that took 7 hours in 1962.

The longest game by innings between the old rivals was a 20-inning win for Boston in the second game of a 1967 doubleheader.

It was the longest game by innings for New York since a 19-inning victory over Minnesota in August 1976.

Headley’s solo shot off fill-in closer Edward Mujica came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Neither team could break through again until Ortiz launched an 0-2 pitch from Esmil Rogers (0-1) to right-center.

It was the slugger’s first home run of the year and his 50th against the Yankees, including playoff games.

Didi Gregorius had a chance to win it for New York in the 16th and 18th, but grounded out with a runner at third to end both innings.

Boston got five innings of relief from Wright (1-0), a former University of Hawaii pitcher, in a game that featured 17 pitchers.

"It was just a wonderful game. I wish we would have won — but it was a great game," Headley said.

The Red Sox stranded 20 runners, but came through one last time in the 19th. Bogaerts singled, stole second and went to third on a passed ball by backup catcher John Ryan Murphy. Betts delivered a sac fly to center.