Watch Rays slugger Nelson Cruz homer off the Tropicana Field catwalk vs. Red Sox
Cruz's homer gave the Rays a 3-0 lead in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Nelson Cruz hit a home run in Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday that never cleared the fence.
With two out in the bottom of the third and his Rays already ahead of the Red Sox 2-0 in Game 1 of the ALDS, Cruz drove a ball high in the air to left. Red Sox outfielders Kiké Henández and Alex Verdugo backed up, but the ball caromed off the catwalk high above the field and fell back into the shallow outfield.
Hernández ran up to the ball and got it back into the infield, but the umpires had already ruled the hit a homer as Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta protested fruitlessly.
In most parks with a roof, hitting the ceiling is automatically a double, and the ball is ruled dead. Tropicana Field is an exception, where hitting the ceiling can earn a player a trip all the way around the bases depending on which catwalk it hits.
Red Sox fans were livid with Tropicana Field on social media after Cruz’s homer.
“Tropicana Field is a joke, it’s like playing wiffle ball in your living room and hitting the ceiling fan,” one Twitter user wrote.
The Rays led 4-0 after six innings after Randy Arozarena blasted a fifth-inning homer to left.