A wild game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox had almost too many moments to count, with several lead changes and a late push in the ninth inning from the Yankees to force extra innings, where they would win in the 10th, 11–8.
Lost in the mix early on was a concentration mistake from Ceddanne Rafaela, who was engaged in a conversation with his base coach, Kyle Hudson, in between plays. The problem was that Rafaela was not standing on the bag, and so he was liable to be tagged out.
Yankees players noticed and got the ball to Oswaldo Cabrera, who applied the tag before Rafaela even knew what was going on. The umpire saw it all and called him out, correctly.
A really tough look for a player just trying to soak up some intel and direction from a coach:
Knowing the game went to extra innings and was tied after nine frames, moments like this one stick out as sore spots. New York got a free out, one that could have proven fruitful for the Red Sox in some alternative reality where Rafaela is two steps to his left. But that's baseball.
He's still just a rookie, so a lesson learned for the young player and a textbook welcome to the league moment. He had an otherwise O.K. game, going 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
Certainly, a play he and the Red Sox would love to have back. Lucky for them, they can try to win the series in a rubber match on Sunday.
