A huge inning for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday against the New York Yankees could have been even bigger had one player remembered his baserunning fundamentals.
The Red Sox trailed the Yankees 4-3 in the bottom of the 2nd inning at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. The home team managed to tie the game after the first three batters reached base.
Right fielder Wilyer Abreu stepped up to the plate with Ceddanne Rafaela at third and Jarren Duran at second. Abreu flew out to center field for what was supposed to just be one out.
However, the Yankees caught Rafaela sleeping and tagged him out.
The Yankees stole an out because Rafaela just wasn’t on the bag 😂 pic.twitter.com/uqwQK6rJM4
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 27, 2024
Rafaela was busy chatting with third base coach Kyle Hudson, who should have been the first to remind the Red Sox infielder to keep his foot on the base.
The Red Sox still scored an additional run via a Masataka Yoshida RBI single before the end of the inning to take a 5-4 lead. But Boston could have potentially plated even more had Rafaela not given away a free out.
