What it means: It might have taken them a century, but the Yankees have finally avenged a defeat at the hands of the Red Sox suffered on this date, 1912, on the day Fenway Park was brand-spanking-new.

Champagne Super Nova: On the same day Pedro Martinez, Kevin Millar and 36,000 fans shared a champagne toast before the game, Ivan Nova toasted the lifeless Red Sox, holding them to just two runs over six innings. The Yankees' best starter so far is now 3-0 with a 3.79 ERA and, get this, has won his past 15 decisions. Nova hasn't been charged with a loss since last June 3.

Bombs over Boston: The Yankees belted five solo home runs, two by Eric Chavez and one each by Nick Swisher, Russell Martin and Alex Rodriguez. For Chavez, it was his 16th two-homer game but first in more than six years, going back to April 11, 2006.

Junior, meet your daddy: That would be A-Rod, whose fifth-inning home run, a blast clear over the left-field bleachers and out into the street, gave him 631 career home runs, one more than Ken Griffey Jr. Rodriguez is now fifth on the all-time list, behind guys named Mays (660), Ruth (714), Aaron (755) and Bonds (*).

November comes before May: Derek "Mr. November" Jeter's second-inning single gave him 3,111 career hits and moved him ahead of his boyhood idol, Dave "Mr. May" Winfield, into 18th on the all-time hits list.

Here comes the sun: And it was not all right, as Swisher lost Mike Aviles' fifth-inning liner in the late-afternoon glare. Luckily for Swisher, the ball did not hit him. Unluckily for the Yankees, it hit the grass for an RBI double, cutting the Yankees' lead at the time to 5-2.

Worth a second look: David Ortiz's second-inning shot off Nova hit the Green Monster so hard and bounced back onto the field so quickly it was tough to tell with the naked eye what the replay made clear, that the ball had caromed off the hand of a fan in the front row. After a brief review, it was rightly ruled a home run.

It's not Valentine's Day: The pregame ceremony honoring the 100th birthday of Fenway Park included an impressive procession of former Red Sox, including such luminaries as Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra and Carl Yastrzemski, all of whom received huge ovations. But the loudest roar might have been for deposed manager (and current ESPN analyst) Terry Francona, which was either a tribute to his two world championships or a commentary on the job new manager Bobby Valentine is doing so far. The capper came in the bottom of the ninth, when what was left of the crowd began chanting, "We want Tito!''