NEW YORK -- The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees were still scoreless in the fifth inning of their pivotal matchup Sunday when Ceddanne Rafaela made what he emphatically believed was a diving catch before throwing to first base for a double play.
But the ruling on the field was no catch and the call was upheld after replay review, sparking heated frustration from the Red Sox and a five-run inning that snowballed into a 16-1 blowout win for the Yankees.
"I was really mad in the moment," Rafaela said. "I really wanted to help my pitcher there. And I feel that changed the whole game right there."
The bottom of the fifth inning began with Jose Caballero reaching base on an infield single against Ranger Suarez before Jazz Chisholm Jr. lifted a 299-foot fly ball to right-center field. Rafaela, one of the best defenders in the majors, sprinted over and made a quick route adjustment before diving for the sinking ball, which appeared to land in his glove before his wrist rolled over behind him.
He quickly rose to his feet and, without hesitation, threw the ball to first base to double off Caballero, believing he made the catch. But first-base umpire Edwin Moscoso ruled that Rafaela trapped the ball, giving the Yankees runners on first and second base with no outs. Boston challenged the call, which was upheld -- not confirmed -- upon replay review.
"I know when you hear 'call stands,' not 'call confirmed,' that's a pretty good indicator that they're saying it's very difficult to see anything on video for us to overturn on the field," Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. "So, if you hear 'call confirmed,' that's different. That's not what you heard.
"We in the dugout feel like our center fielder caught the ball. But if they don't have anything that they can definitively overturn it, that's usually where you end up and obviously it's frustrating."
From there, Suarez unraveled. Yankees catcher Ali Sanchez followed the controversial call with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt then hit a soft ground ball that squeezed through the middle of a drawn-in infield for a two-run single.
Two batters later, after Cody Bellinger singled, Heliot Ramos cracked a curveball for a three-run home run. The blast suddenly gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead and snapped Ramos' 32-game homerless streak, which dated back to July 20 when he was with the San Francisco Giants.
Suarez lamented missing his location on the 1-2 pitch -- he wanted it low and out of the strike zone -- and the call that could have stymied the rally before it started.
"It wasn't just me. I think everyone was surprised," Suarez said in Spanish. "It was a play that could've changed everything, could've changed the game in general. After that, the game changed completely."
The Yankees added a run in the sixth inning and another in the seventh before erupting for nine runs in an eighth inning that ended with infielder Andruw Monasterio on the mound for Boston. Yankees catcher Austin Wells hit two home runs in the frame while Monasterio was charged with five runs in two-thirds of an inning.
With the result, the Yankees won the four-game series and the season series, 7-6, to clinch the tiebreaker should the rivals finish the regular season with the same record.
The Red Sox departed New York on Sunday four games behind the Yankees for the first wild-card spot. If the standings hold, the clubs would meet at Yankee Stadium for a three-game wild-card series for the second consecutive year. If that happens, the Red Sox will be left wondering what if.
"I didn't have to even watch it," Rafaela said. "I know I made the catch. I know when a ball drops and a ball don't drop. And I know I made the catch."