Yankees vs. Red Sox games are known to get wild — just not like this.
A squirrel ran onto the field during Friday night’s game, briefly interrupting play in a viral moment that delighted the crowd of 46,064.
In the top of the fourth, the rogue rodent ran into Red Sox rookie Jhostynxon Garcia in the batter’s box, then veered onto the mound as Yankees starter Max Fried stoically toed the rubber.
Fried never flinched, even as the undeterred animal came within feet of him.
The swashbuckling squirrel then inspected Fried’s foot hole on the mound before darting toward Ben Rice at first base. Rice, too, was initially statue-esque, but he ultimately jumped away as the squirrel grew near.
Play resumed once the bushy-tailed creature ventured into foul territory. It continued to run along the wall behind first base as Garcia drew a walk and Jarren Duran grounded out to Fried.
On multiple occasions, the squirrel tried to climb into the stands, but it lost its grip and fell back to the field each time.
From there, the squirrel jolted into right field, coming close to Cody Bellinger, before Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to end the inning.
And in a grand finale spurred on by the mid-inning commotion, the squirrel sprinted along the warning track before disappearing into the signage attached to the right field wall.
The sellout crowd went, well, nuts every time the squirrel was on the move.
But Friday was hardly the first time Yankee Stadium became the site of an unexpected animal adventure.
In 2019, a red-tailed hawk repeatedly showed up at Yankee Stadium, where it found perches including the right field foul pole.
And in 2021, a speedy cat got loose in the outfield during a game against the Orioles and repeatedly evaded the Yankee Stadium grounds crew as the crowd chanted “MVP!”
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