Jarrod Saltalamacchia was one of the heroes for the Red Sox on Sunday, but his walk-off RBI single never would have happened were it not for a play along the first base line minutes earlier.
With no outs and Jonny Gomes at second base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Saltalamacchia lifted a high popup near the photographers’ well next to the home dugout. Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder seemed to have a bead on the ball, but it tipped off his glove at the wall and bounced into the seats.
As Fielder stood beside the Fenway Park tarp, stunned at his poor fortune, one young fan took the opportunity to greet the slugger, appearing to say “Hi, Mr. Fielder” while the fans behind him wrestled for Salty’s foul ball.
Given new life, Saltalamacchia ripped a single between shortstop and third base two pitches later, scoring Gomes from third to tie the American League Championship Series at one game apiece.
Check out Fielder’s interaction with the youngster in the GIF below, courtesy of @cjzero.
