Sep 1, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story (10) runs the bases after being awarded a home run based on a video review during the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Red Sox Applaud Unexpected Hero After Trevor Story's Wacky Home Run

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The Boston Red Sox have hit 167 home runs this season, but none have been stranger than Trevor Story's sixth-inning solo shot on Monday.

Facing Cleveland Guardians reliever Jakob Junis, Story was just late adjusting to a slider and sent a high, looping fly down the right field line. It would have been a simple fair-foul dilemma in almost any other ballpark, but at Fenway Park, it was on a direct path to the Pesky Pole.

The ball momentarily slipped through the glove of right fielder Jhonkensy Noel's glove, touched the foul pole, then caromed all the way out of the glove when Noel's momentum carried him into the crowd. It was ruled a foul ball on the field, but after replay review, it was Story's 23rd home run of the year, giving Boston a 6-3 lead.

Mike Brenly plays hero for Boston

A baseball season is defined by unexpected heroes, and the Red Sox identified theirs on Monday as one Mike Brenly.

Manager Alex Cora applauded Brenly, the team's replay coordinator, for recognizing quickly that the play was worth challenging, effectively awarding him credit for a crucial insurance run in the 6-4 Boston win.

“Brenly was the one that saw the whole thing,” Cora said, per Jen McCaffrey and Zack Meisel of The Athletic. “(Bench coach) Ramon (Vazquez) called Mikey and he was like, ‘We have to challenge this one.’ And we did.”

In addition, McCaffrey and Meisel reported that the 306-foot solo shot was the new shortest over-the-fence home run in Major League Baseball this season, passing Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela's 308-foot walk-off winner against the Los Angeles Angels on June 4.

Story, who has certainly hit many longer blasts in his career, wasn't in the mood to nitpick himself. He now holds the team lead on the season with 23 round-trippers.

"I don't care, it was nice," Story said, per McCaffrey and Meisel. "It was obviously cool to get one on the Pesky Pole. I think that’s the first one I’ve got. So, yeah, it was crazy, I didn’t know what was going on at first. And then finally, like the last few clips (on the video board), I saw it hit the pole, so I felt good about it.”"

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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