Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela, both known for their stellar gloves, combined for a wild highlight Wednesday night.
In the seventh inning of the Boston Red Sox’s showdown with the Detroit Tigers, Kerry Carpenter got a hold of a high fastball from Liam Hendriks. He sent the ball deep to right field, all while Abreu did his best to track it down.
The 2024 Gold Glove winner timed his jump right and reached out, but couldn’t reel it in.
Abreu did manage to redirect the ball back into the field of play, though, and Rafaela was there to catch it off the deflection. The end result was a rare 9-8 home run robbery that shocked the Hendriks, the crowd and the announcers alike.
Abreu entered Wednesday with five defensive runs saved and an AL-leading Total Zone of eight. Rafaela had eight defensive runs saved and a Total Zone of seven that leads all MLB center fielders.
Their combined efforts on the wild seventh-inning circus act kept the game locked at 7-7, surely boosting their defensive metrics in the process.
Rafaela also had a big night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a rally-sparking RBI single in the seventh. Abreu, on the other hand, went 0-for-1 after checking in for Rob Refsnyder.
The Red Sox wound up losing on a walk-off for the second night in a row, however, giving up a game-ending single to Justyn-Henry Malloy in the bottom of the ninth. It wasn’t quite as explosive as Javier Baez’s 11th inning home run on Tuesday, but the end result was the same.
Boston will take Thursday off after suffering a sweep at the hands of Detroit. From there, the Red Sox will take on the Atlanta Braves starting Friday.
