It only took the greatest catch we'll see all year to rob Tigers' Kerry Carpenter HR

If you saw a scorecard from Wednesday's game between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox, you would probably do a double take at the "9-8" putout next to Kerry Carpenter's name in the seventh inning. But believe it or not, it's no misprint.

Red Sox outfielders Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela teamed up to make an unreal defensive play to rob Carpenter of a home run, and you just have to see it to believe it.

With the Tigers and Red Sox deadlocked at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Carpenter gave a Liam Hendriks fastball a ride to right field. Abreu attempted to make the catch at the warning track, jumping up in an attempt to snag the ball before it went over the fence. He prevented the home run – barely – as the ball tipped off his glove and ricocheted back toward the field. An extra-base hit felt inevitable.

Rafaela, however, was in the right place at the right time to corral the deflection before it hit the ground and record the out. Even he and Abreu smiled, their eyes wide with disbelief, as Hendriks threw his arms in the air and appeared to yell, "Holy s***!" in response to the bizarre play from his outfielders that bailed him out big time.

Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu team up for unbelievable web gem to rob Tigers' Kerry Carpenter of a home run

Understandably, the play warranted an official review. After all, even the umpires could barely believe what had just unfolded in front of their eyes.

The call on the field stood, however, and the Red Sox took a collective sigh of relief as their chances of avoiding a three-game sweep remained alive. Detroit had won each of the two previous games in dramatic fashion with a 14-2 rout on Monday and a 10-9 walk-off victory on Tuesday.

But alas, despite Abreu and Rafaela's best efforts, the baseball gods were not on Boston's side. Two innings later, Justyn-Henry Malloy cranked an RBI single to center field off Aroldis Chapman to allow the Tigers to walk it off against the Red Sox for the second time in as many days.

In a game Skubal allowed five earned runs, the Tigers still secured the sweep to put themselves atop MLB with the best record.

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