Wil Myers might not live down the mistake he made in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox for quite some time.
The Tampa Bay Rays rookie outfielder was tracking a David Ortiz fly ball to deep right field in the fourth inning at Fenway Park when he screwed up. Myers was going back and seemed to be close to making the catch, but he backed away at the last second, allowing the ball to land for a hit and bounce over the fence for a ground-rule double.
Instead of having one out and Dustin Pedroia on first, the Sox then had runners on second and third with nobody out. Jonny Gomes delivered a game-tying 2-run double, and the Sox added three more after that to take a 5-2 lead.
Myers obviously thought he had been called off by center fielder Desmond Jennings on the play, because there is no other explanation for him pulling away from the ball at the last second. But that wasn’t the only play that inning that showed everything was going Boston’s way. Stephen Drew reached on an infield single that scored Gomes from second, and Jacoby Ellsbury reached on a dropped third strike. It was just one of those days for the Rays.
In the GIF below, you can see Myers back away from the ball more clearly:
Note: Ortiz was credited with a hit while Myers did not receive an error on the play, though we consider it one.
GIF via @cjzero
