As the ball left Alex Bregman's bat, and charted its course as a quickly dipping liner to the outfield grass in left, Andrew Benintendi had no time to think.
As he raced in from his spot in deep left, and reacted to the ball's trajectory as it approached the ground, he had to let his instincts take over.
"That’s when it was either do or die," Benintendi said.
One way or another, in this seesaw, emotional rollercoaster marathon, the game was going to end on this play. Two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox led by two when Bregman jumped on Craig Kimbrel's first-pitch fastball.
As he dove for it, Benintendi was either going to catch it, or it was going to get by him, the bases would clear and the Astros would have evened this series.
Benintendi got his glove underneath it, and made no doubt, making a catch that will live forever in Red Sox postseason lore. It capped a wild ninth inning, and secured the Red Sox' 8-6 victory over the Astros in a dramatic Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park, giving them a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Game 5 is tonight, as the Red Sox send out David Price to oppose Justin Verlander with a win away from advancing to the World Series.
"I’m going to sleep real good tonight," Xander Bogaerts said. "I’m going to dream of Benny and him catching that ball. Amazing night."
As he stood up after making the catch, a typically stoic Benintendi let out a scream. Jackie Bradley Jr. was the first to meet him and he picked him up.
"I usually don’t show too much, but that one I did. I looked at Bogey and he was jumping up," Benintendi said. "It was fun. I’m glad I caught it."
"Beni took a shot," Cora said. "Had a great jump. And he got it. And now we're up 3-1 against a tough team. We know who we're facing tomorrow. But we'll see what we've got tomorrow and see what happens. ...
