Tampa Bay Rays star Randy Arozarena did something that is so rarely seen in Major League Baseball that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora could only tip his cap.
The lightning-fast left fielder stole home in the seventh inning during Game 1 of the American League Division Series. It was his third run of the game and gave the Rays a 5-0 advantage, which proved to be the final verdict.
“(Josh Taylor) did a good job, he was playing with him the whole at-bat,” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We were close to him and then he got back to the bag and then that one, he kind of timed it perfectly and then he took off.”
Arozarena waited until the left-handed Taylor turned his back to him at third base, then made a mad dash to home plate. His head-first slide easily beat a tag from Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez and sent Tropicana Field into celebration. He became the first player to steal home in a postseason game since 2016, according to MLB.
“He caught everybody by surprise,” Cora said. “It was a great baseball play. He had a great baseball game today. I think JT was actually paying attention, but probably, two strikes, concentration was with the hitter, just put him away. Randy did an amazing job and that was an amazing baseball play.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash called it “one of the coolest things” he’s seen on a baseball field.
Arozarena certainly was the star of the show Thursday night. He took a lead-off walk in the first inning and turned it into the game’s first run. He added a home run in the fifth inning, as well. All told, the rookie All-Star reached base three times with three runs and one RBI.
The Red Sox will return to Tropicana Field for Game 2 against the Rays on Friday. First pitch is set for 7:02 p.m. ET, but you can watch pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. on NESN.
