The Red Sox not once, but twice looked like they were going to sit down Aaron Judge in the eighth inning at Fenway Park on Sunday night.
With Yankees on second and third with one out, Boston had a golden opportunity to retire Judge when he lifted a foul ball to the right side. But Bobby Dalbec wasn't able to snag the pop up, giving the New York slugger new life.
Judge managed to avoid an out again later in the at-bat when he benefitted from a questionable call. On a 1-2 count, the three-time All-Star fouled tipped one into the glove of Christian Vázquez, who appeared to fumble the baseball on the transfer. But the home plate umpire deemed it a clean drop by Vázquez, nixing what would have been a crucial strikeout for Adam Ottavino.
From there, Judge roped a two-run, go-ahead double. The Bronx Bombers never looked back, earning a 6-3 win in the finale to complete a three-game road sweep.
Judge himself seemingly was surprised he was able to stick in the batter's box in the eighth as long as he did.
"I felt like a cat," Judge told reporters, per MLB.com. "I felt like I had nine lives up there."
The Yankees now have a one-game lead over the Red Sox for the first American League Wild Card spot. So if the regular season ended Monday, the longtime rivals would meet at Yankee Stadium for a do-or-die matchup with a trip to the divisional round on the line.
Boston and New York both have six games left on their respective dockets. The Red Sox will close things out with road series against the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, while the Yankees will visit Toronto for a three-gamer against the Blue Jays before wrapping things up with the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx.
