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.
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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.
