NEW YORK — Ryan McMahon looked up and saw Jarren Duran’s foul popup veering toward the Boston bench.
Without hesitation, the New York Yankees third baseman raced over. As he made a running catch, McMahon hit the padded railing and flipped head over heels into the Red Sox dugout, crashing to the ground while hanging onto the ball.
Fortunate he didn’t get hurt, McMahon jumped right to his feet and quickly bolted out of enemy territory. He joined his happy teammates on the field as the crowd at Yankee Stadium roared.
“I didn’t feel anything,” McMahon said. “Just kept rolling with the adrenaline, popped back up and I was just excited to make the play.”
McMahon’s courageous catch in the eighth inning helped New York close out a 4-0 win over Boston in the deciding Game 3 of their AL Wild Card Series, advancing the Yankees to a best-of-five Division Series against Toronto.
It was a play that brought back memories of shortstop Derek Jeter’s famous grab for New York when he sprinted to snare Trot Nixon’s popup and crashed into the Yankee Stadium seats along the left-field line in the 12th inning of a game against the Red Sox on July 1, 2004.
McMahon, however, wasn’t about to compare the two web gems.
“We’re not going to do that. Completely different scale,” he said.
OK, perhaps Jeter’s headfirst dive into the stands was more dangerous. But the stakes in this game were significantly higher.
McMahon’s highlight-reel catch secured the second out of the eighth for rookie starter Cam Schlittler, who struck out 12 in a dominant playoff performance.
“I was just chasing it down,” McMahon said. “All of a sudden I was going over the rail. Just glad to get the catch, get the out for Cam. He was rolling, so I just wanted to keep his momentum going.”
McMahon didn’t start for the second time in the series because the Red Sox started a left-hander on the mound. He entered on defense in the sixth for Amed Rosario with the Yankees protecting a lead.
Two innings later, McMahon left his mark on a memorable game.
“Unreal. Glad he’s OK,” teammate Giancarlo Stanton said. “Just shows how good he is, how hard he plays.”
McMahon ran 75 feet to complete the catch — with a hard somersault landing at the end.
“That was amazing,” Schlittler said.
McMahon, an All-Star last year, was acquired in a trade from the last-place Colorado Rockies on July 23 to solidify New York’s defense at third base and provide another left-handed bat.
He hit .208 in 54 regular-season games for the Yankees but had a .971 fielding percentage.
“It’s plays like that in crunch time, that’s why you go out and get a guy like that,” New York captain Aaron Judge said.
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