"Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts did it better" - Fans let their feelings out after Red Sox duo's stunning HR robbery of Kerry Carpenter

Boston Red Sox' outfield duo Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela turned a comical, yet amazing play in the Wednesday night contest against the Detroit Tigers. The pair robbed a home run off Tigers' designated Kerry Carpenter, albeit, in an unusual manner.

In the bottom of the seventh, Carpenter smashed a ball so hard that it almost made it over the right-center field wall. However, it bounced off Abreu's glove, which the right fielder mishandled. Then came Raffaela to complete the catch and the robbery of the go-ahead home run. The unusual sequence spawned different reactions from MLB fans.

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"Who’s never seen that? Jackson Merrill and Bogaerts did it BETTER," a fan stated.

"Forget it's a kids game sometimes," one fan shared.

"Boys will be boys," one fan noted.

The play was compared to the July 25, 2024 catch made by Jackson Merrill after Xander Bogaerts fumbled the ball in a game against the Washington Nationals.

Although the routine seemed like a backyard league play, the Red Sox duo's catch still impressed some fans as Carpenter was robbed of the dinger.

"What type of alley oop robbery is this," a fan questioned.

"Tag team robbing a go ahead home run is diabolical," one fan pointed out.

"First 9-8 putout ever?" One fan asked.

Although the catch preserved the 5-5 tie, it would ultimately be in vain as Boston were edged out by Detroit, 6-5.

Red Sox swept by Tigers on the road

In spite of a highlight catch between Wilyer Abreu and Ceddane Rafaela to preserve the tie in the seventh inning, the Boston Red Sox ultimately fell short in the series-closer to the Detroit Tigers, 6-5. As a result, the visitors got swept by the Tigers in their three-game series in the Motor City.

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The see-saw battle saw the two teams exchange the lead from the get-go. Rob Refsnyder brought home Rafael Devers in the first with a sacrifice fly. Trey Sweeney would then pull one back for the Tigers in the second with an RBI single.

Alex Bregman gave the Red Sox the lead back with a solo home run, his 11th of the season. Dillon Dingler ground out then drove in Colt Keith for as Detroit tied the score at 2-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, Riley Greene smashed his tenth home run of the year followed up by Sweeney's sac fly to push the Tigers' lead to three. In the next frame, Rafaela, Jarren Duran, and Rafael Devers all pitched it to once again tie the contest.

However, it would be all for naught as Justyn-Henry Malloy walked off the game with a single that drove in Andy Ibañez for the Tigers' successful sweep of the visiting Red Sox.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago