BOSTON — The Red Sox’s Trevor Story had a strange Fenway Park homer in the sixth inning against Cleveland on Monday when the ball went off an outfielder’s glove and then the Pesky Pole.
Facing right-hander Jakob Junis, Story hit a 306-foot fly down the right-field line, where Jhonkensy Noel tried for a leaping catch. The ball ticked off Noel’s glove and then the pole as Story stopped at second and umpires gathered to discuss the play.
Umpires ruled the ball foul, then conducted a video review. Crew chief Jordan Baker then announced the call had been overturned, giving Story his 23rd homer for a 6-3 lead.
“It was nice,” Story said. “It was obviously cool to get one on the Pesky Pole; I think that’s the first one I got. It was crazy. I didn’t know what was going on at first and then finally the last few [replays] I saw it hit the pole. I felt good about it.”
The Red Sox held on for a 6-4 victory — their ninth in 12 games to improve to an AL-best 35-18 since the beginning of July.
Boston (77-62) pulled within a percentage point of the New York Yankees (76-61) for the American League’s top wild-card spot, with both teams just 2½ games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.
Story said it felt strange waiting on second because he initially thought it would be a ground-rule double.
“It’s weird for sure. You’re trying to stay locked in in case it’s a foul ball,” Story said. “It’s just kind of a weird time. After I saw the last couple of clips, I felt good about it.”
It ended up being the shortest (non-inside-the-park) home run in the MLB this season. The previous shortest was a 308-foot walk-off shot just past the Pesky Pole by his teammate Ceddanne Rafaela on June 4.