The Red Sox humiliated the Yankees, 16-1, in Game 3 of the ALDS Monday night in the Bronx. With such a lopsided result in a game that was 10-0 through the top of the fourth inning, obviously that makes for some oddities along the way. 

Sure enough, catcher Austin Romine came in to pitch the ninth inning. That is just the second time in postseason history that a position player came in to pitch, after Cliff Pennington did so in the 2015 ALCS for the Blue Jays while getting blown out by the Royals. 

This is where the plot thickens again. Romine would cough up a home run to Red Sox second baseman Brock Holt. 

Holt's plate appearances: 

  1. Groundout.
  2. Single to start the ridiculous seven-run fourth. 
  3. Two-RBI triple to make it 10-0 in the fourth.
  4. Groundout.
  5. RBI double.
  6. Two-run home run. 

Nice we got a cycle in there. Check it out: 

Surely a player has hit for the cycle in the playoffs before, right? 

I confirmed on baseball-reference.com play index. This was the first time in MLB history a player hit for the cycle in the playoffs. That's astounding to me. 

And the home run came off a position player. In a playoff game! 

What a beautifully weird game we love.