Home run robberies are a classic MLB highlight, but the Boston Red Sox found some room for innovation on Wednesday.
Facing the Detroit Tigers with the game tied 5-5, reliever Liam Hendriks allowed a long fly ball to Kerry Carpenter in the seventh inning. The ball looked like a homer, and would have been, had Gold Glove right-fielder Wilyer Abreu not put a glove on it as it flew over the fence.
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But the play didn’t end there. Abreu got a glove on the ball, but he only bobbled it back into the field of play, into the waiting arms of center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela for a two-man home run robbery.
No one watching was happier than Hendriks. The umpire crew reviewed the play and upheld the rare 9-8 putout.
And that, kids, is why you run to back up a fellow outfielder.
You see something new at the ballpark every day, such as the Boston Red Sox’s home run robbery. (Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Hendriks gushed about the play after the game, saying there were gifts coming for both outfielders, via MassLive’s Chris Cotillo:
“I don’t think I’ve seen that …,” he said. “[My reaction was] ‘Thank God.’ It was a hell of catch. Off the bat, I was like, ‘Oh, crap.’ Then I saw Willy drifting back and thought maybe we had a chance. Didn’t think it was that chance.”
“You see these guys. Willy’s got a Gold Glove for a reason.”
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, it was a highlight in a losing effort. Aroldis Chapman allowed a ninth-inning rally that culminated in a walk-off single by Tigers pinch-hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy.
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