Kenley Jansen, like so many others, thought the Red Sox suffered their second straight loss to the Orioles when Masataka Yoshida lifted a lazy fly ball to left field with two outs in the ninth inning.
In fact, Jansen was already on his way back to Boston’s clubhouse as Ryan McKenna stood under Yoshida’s pop fly. It wasn’t until Jansen heard a roar from fans at Fenway Park that he received the Red Sox had new life Saturday.
McKenna wasn’t able to make the routine play, as it hit the base of his glove and allowed Boston to send the winning run to the plate. Adam Duvall made the Baltimore left fielder pay, torching a walk-off homer over the Green Monster to lift the Red Sox to their first win of the season. It also marked Jansen’s first victory in a Boston uniform.
“It’s crazy,” Jansen told reporters, per MassLive. “It’s like, ‘Oh, man. We fought hard today and we came up short.’ And then I turned my back and I started to go to the clubhouse and I hear the fans screaming. Then I turned back and looked and he had dropped the ball.”
The Red Sox will try to ride the momentum from Duvall’s clutch homer and complete a series win Sunday. NESN’s complete coverage of the Baltimore-Boston finale begins at 12:30 p.m. ET.
