Harrison Bader remained on fire Wednesday, though he may have a fan to thank for his latest feat.
The Yankees center fielder smacked a home run in the first inning of the Bombers’ 11-3 blowout win over the A’s at the Stadium on a fly ball to right field that JJ Bleday may have had a chance to rob.
Except a fan sitting in the front row snagged it before Bleday could, reaching his own glove out to catch it above the Athletics right fielder’s outstretched glove.
First base umpire Laz Diaz signaled for a home run on the field before calling for a crew chief review.
It didn’t last long, though, before Diaz announced that the call on the field stood.
According to Statcast, Bader’s 362-foot fly ball only would have been a home run at Yankee Stadium and nowhere else.
Still, it counted all the same, giving the red-hot Bader his third home run in his eighth game of the season and putting the Yankees ahead of the Athletics 4-0.
He is hitting .429 (12-for-28) with 11 RBIs since coming off the injured list.
A Yankees fan catches Harrison Bader’s first-inning home run over A’s outfielder JJ Bleday. Paul J. Bereswill for the NY Post
Harrison Bader (l.) and Anthony Rizzo (r.) reacts in the Yankees dugout after Bader’s home run. Paul J. Bereswill for the NY PostAfter missing the first month of the season with a strained oblique, Bader has returned to provide an immediate boost to the lineup.
