New York Yankees designated hitter Ben Rice sent Yankee Stadium into an absolute frenzy on Tuesday night when he hit a grand slam over the wall to give his club a 9-0 lead in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox. Lost in the moment was where the actual baseball landed inside the stadium, or, in this case, what it hit before falling to the ground.
It just so happened that Rice’s grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning was headed straight for New York’s bullpen in right-center field.
Baseball fans routinely see pitchers hanging out in the bullpen get under home runs and catch them as if they’re pop-ups, which always makes for a cool moment, but what we witnessed on Tuesday night was one of a kind.
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As soon as the roar inside the stadium grew in anticipation of the baseball clearing the wall, one of the Yankees’ bullpen catchers stood up, took a few steps to his right, and while it appeared he was going to throw his glove up and catch the baseball, he instead stood still and let the ball hit him directly on top of his helmet.
No last-second flinch, no movement to soften the blow of the baseball hitting him in the mask, just pure commitment from the bullpen catcher.
Aside from Rice launching a grand slam and going 4-for-5 at the dish to help deliver the Yanks a 9-0 victory, the story of Game 1 was the performance from New York starting pitcher Cam Schlittler.
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The Massachusetts native was dominant on the bump, allowing just two hits, one walk, and striking out 10 hitters in 6.1 innings of work. New York needed Schlittler, the heavy favorite to win AL Cy Young honors, to go out and put together a performance, and he undoubtedly answered that call.
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The Yankees snagged a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning before doubling the lead in the bottom of the fifth and adding two more runs in the seventh before Rice officially put the game away in what was a five-run eighth inning for the home club.
The Red Sox will now be forced to figure out Max Fried on the mound on Wednesday night as they face elimination in the best-of-three series.
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