Yankees’ broadcast call of squirrel running on field lifted mood during Red Sox series

One of the biggest rivalries in sports took center stage Friday evening when the New York Yankees hosted the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium; but for a brief moment, a small, furry intruder stole the show.

In the top of the fourth inning, a squirrel scampered into the batter's box and practically ricocheted off of Jhostynxon Garcia's foot. Talk about a memorable MLB debut for the Red Sox rookie.

The crowd began to roar as the squirrel proceeded to dart down the third base line, briefly pausing the game. The bushy-tailed trespasser took a lengthy pause on the pitcher's mound, much to the apparent displeasure of Yankees starter Max Fried.

The squirrel eventually moved on from the mound, heading over to the infield grass. It made its way over to first base, forcing Ben Rice to sidestep out of the way. Play eventually resumed as the squirrel reached foul territory, but the damage had already been done. Fried was visibly rattled, and he threw his next pitch into the dirt for ball four to give Garcia a free pass to first base.

The intrepid critter continued its panicked search for an exit route, bumping into corners and at one point trying to scale a wall in order to make his escape. Fans watched with amusement as it finally made its way into the digital scoreboard in the outfield, which is covered by a chain-link fence.

Yankees’ broadcast call of squirrel running on field lifted mood during Red Sox series

Fried may not have been amused by the interruption, but he was decidedly in the minority. Even the Yankees' TV broadcast team had some fun while it lasted, providing lively commentary of the squirrel's antics and even mocking a play-by-play call of its dash around the field.

When the squirrel departed the mound and began to scamper toward the infield dirt, Michael Kay, Paul O'Neill and David Cone started to mimic a touchdown call in football: "He's at the 30! He's at the 20!"

Fried was able to get Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela to ground out in order to get out of the inning unscathed and strand Garcia on the bases. If you asked the Yankees broadcasters, however, it was the squirrel who displayed the most athletic prowess of anyone on the field.

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