Petaluma native Jonny Gomes made one of the most unusual plays you'll ever see for the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night in their wild 5-4 15-inning win against the Seattle Mariners.
With runners at first and second with one out in the top of the 15th inning, Gomes made a great backhanded diving catch in left field on a ball hit in front of him, robbing Michael Saunders of an apparent run-scoring hit.
With Seattle's Raul Ibanez running on the play - expecting to score from second on a ball he was sure would fall - Gomes raced to second and tapped on the base for an unassisted double play.
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The five hour, three minute marathon game was in itself unique because it started in July (the first pitch was thrown shortly after 7 p.m.) and ended in August.
Gomes' amazing play can be seen in this Yahoo Sports' Big League Stew video clip.
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Gomes acknowledged he was mindful of being involved in of the game's most unusual occurrences, Masslive.com reports.
"To tell the truth, you know, myself as kind of a fan of the game, history of the game, you know, number guy, it definitely was on purpose and ... I've been waiting years to do that," Gomes said.
"That's why I'm glad I got it on my resume."
Outfielders have turned unassisted double plays before - just not that often. Tampa Bay's Desmond Jennings turned one earlier this year, but before that the last one was in 2003 (Mike Cameron).
What's the most unusual baseball play you've ever seen (at any level)? Share your thoughts in our comments section.
