A strange sequence in the Yankees-Red Sox game caught everyone off guard. With runners on first and third and no outs, a shallow fly ball didn’t allow a tag-up. The Red Sox runner on third, Ceddanne Rafaela, assumed the play was over. He stepped off the bag while chatting with his third base coach. Yankees third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera noticed and signaled second baseman Gleyber Torres, who had the ball. Instead of tossing it back to the mound, Torres faked a throw, looked at the ball a bit, then casually handed it to Cabrera. With Rafaela still off the base, Cabrera quickly tagged him out. Both Torres and Cabrera stayed alert and communicated quietly to make the play.
It wasn’t a classic hidden ball trick, just heads-up awareness against a player not paying attention. The call stood, and Rafaela was out, ending what could have been a scoring threat. That play loomed larger when Masataka Yoshida drove in only one run on a hit that might have scored two. Later, the game went into extra innings, where every missed opportunity mattered. Trent Grisham also made a big play to keep another deep shot from causing more damage. The Yankees’ alert defense helped prevent what might have been a pivotal Red Sox rally.