Tigers Had To Give Props To Red Sox For Alley-Oop Robbery

Fans at Comerica Park witnessed an incredible play from a Boston Red Sox duo Wednesday, and even the Detroit Tigers couldn’t deny how great it was.

Wilyer Abreu did well to track a Kerry Carpenter flyball, but it bounced off his glove and appeared to drop back in play. However, Ceddanne Rafaela was there at the right time to clean up the play for an assisted home run robbery.

Boston’s outfield duo denied Carpenter his 10th home run of the season, but the slugger had to give them their praise.

“I’ve hit balls pretty similar that have gone further than that,” Carpenter told reporters Wednesday, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “I was surprised. I hate that we were on the other end of it, but that was pretty fun to watch, honestly.”

Abreu won an American League Gold Glove award as a rookie last season, and Rafaela dazzled with multiple web gems in the outfield. But it’s still hard to believe baseball fans will ever see a play like that anytime soon.

“I thought it was 10 rows deep,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said, per Browne. “Then I was hoping that those little fake bushes in the outfield maybe had (pushed the ball back into play). And then I was walking out to the crew chief just to make sure, and then our in-game showed the video on the board, and if I could’ve just rescinded the crew chief, I would have. It was obvious that they’d made a great play. But when Carp hits a ball in the air, don’t we all think it’s a homer?”

The Red Sox earned a moral victory with the highlight, but Detroit got the last laugh with another walk-off win. Alex Cora’s side will look to rebound in a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park.