You know that GIF of The Undertaker dramatically rising from his coffin?
The Boston Red Sox personified it on Friday night in the Bronx…
#DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/nc6OurgTrP
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) July 6, 2024
The Yankees had the Red Sox dead and buried. Boston’s old issues — from the bats going silent again to making costly defensive miscues — came back to haunt them. Frankly, they should have buried them…
It was all but over. Down 3-1, ninth inning, Clay Holmes on the mound, two outs, two strikes, and an energized Yankee Stadium crowd on their feet.
Then Masataka Yoshida happened.
One graceful swing. 405 feet. 103.3 mph. Tied game.
The Red Sox had come roaring back from the dead.
MASATAKA YOSHIDA TIES IT UP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/b41ikeT66W
— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2024
As quickly as the complexion of the game shifted in that moment, it seemed to end even quicker. After breezing through the bottom of the ninth, the Sox were up in the 10th. Ceddanne Rafaela was at the plate with David Hamilton on second as the ghost runner.
“I’m thinking a ball in the gap or something, you know, keep the line moving,” Alex Cora said. “But when he hit it in the air, he crushed that ball.”
Ceddanne Rafaela's 2-run tank gives the @RedSox the lead in extras! pic.twitter.com/lenDIFAVhA
— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2024
Rafaela’s tie-breaking two-run shot to dead center put the Sox up 5-3, and the rest — thanks to the work of ol’ reliable Kenley Jansen in the bottom of the 10th, including coaxing a big fly out from Aaron Judge in foul territory — was history.
In a matter of minutes, the Red Sox had gone from listless loss to signature victory. And both Yoshida and Rafaela carved out their own signature moments in Red Sox lore.
*Chef’s kiss* … it was a masterpiece.
“It wasn’t gonna be like a tough one — we’ve been through this a lot, right?” a smiling Cora said. “But one thing about them, you’ve got to give them credit. They didn’t stop playing. They enjoy themselves, too. It’s a good group that, every time you play against somebody… I talked to skip (Yankees manager Aaron Boone) today and he said ‘Man, you guys play hard.’”
Breaking down the comeback, it truly came from the unlikeliest of sources. Yoshida hasn’t exactly been a power threat. His last homer prior to Friday came April 20th in Pittsburgh — a 21-game homer-less spell across two-plus, injury-plagued months.
“A lot of people get caught up in the power numbers and all that — I’ll take the hitter,” Cora said. “He hasn’t hit for power, but… short porch in right, got a good pitch to hit and then drove it.”
⚾Masataka Yoshida! HR (3)
— Home Run Report (@homerunreport) July 6, 2024
7/5/24 @ NYY, ⬆️ 9th
vs RHP Clay Holmes
103.3 MPH / 26° / 405 ft to RF
Off a 96.1 MPH sinker
▶️It's a home run in 30/30 parks.◀️
📺: https://t.co/tY3q5tWzyb pic.twitter.com/0N2TCNcaXi
Asked if his dramatic homer was his biggest hit as a Red Sox, Yoshida concurred.
“He’s a tough pitcher to face, obviously, so I tried to foul it off, foul it off, and I was able to get that one — so I feel great,” Yoshida said through a team interpreter. “Situation-wise and the stadium, you know, here in Yankee Stadium, I think that’s one of the biggest highlights of my career with the Red Sox.”
Then you have Rafaela, who hasn’t shown a huge inclination for driving the ball out of the park and was hitting under .250. But that didn’t stop the exciting young center fielder from connecting for the most electrifying hit of his Red Sox career.
"Felt amazing. Felt amazing to help the team out,” Rafaela told NESN in his postgame on-field interview. “Great emotion. Great feeling.”
The comeback win even had Tanner Houck feeling great, even though he was far from his best after lasting just 3 1/3 innings while surrendering three runs, one earned, walking four and striking out just one batter.
“Got myself into some trouble there and wasn’t able to get out of it — great team win, though,” Houck said. “Excited to watch the boys do that, come together and find a way to come back to win.”
The result was a fifth straight win for Boston, who improved to 26-15 since May 19th — that would be the best record in baseball. The Sox are 13-4 since their series-opening loss to the Yankees on June 14th. Meanwhile, the Yankees have gone 3-14…
As rejuvenating as that win must have felt for the Sox, it was equally if not more devastating for the Yanks. Once comfortably atop the AL East standings, New York slipped 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore.
“Especially considering what we’re going through right now to have them take it and then pile on there in the extra frame… um, you know, it’s a difficult time,” Boone said.
In the words of Jerry Seinfeld… that’s a shame.
As much fun as it was, the Sox know they have to do it all again on Saturday — and Sunday.
Cora’s team has been great at maintaining a workman-like approach for the majority of the season. As he likes to say, they never get too low, and they never get too high. Even though the temptation to get too high is probably at an all-time high after that one…
“Since day one, they don’t get caught up in stuff like this,” he said. “We will show up (on Saturday), prepare for Gerrit Cole who's one of the best in the business, and try to win the ballgame.
Cora added, “That’s a testament to who they are. What they're all about and we're talented too. So, it's been fun.”
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.