Its the first straight steal of home by a Red Sox player since Billy Hatcher did it against Chuck Finley and the Angels on April 22, 1994. Ellsbury got a huge jump off of Pettitte, who afterwards appeared to be asking home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom if he would have balked had he made a pickoff attempt. With third baseman Angel Berroa playing deep at third, Ellsbury was able to take a big lead. He was at the edge of the circle of dirt around home plate before Pettitte even released the pitch, then dove in head first under Jorge Posadas tag.

The last Red Sox player to steal home was Jose Offerman, in 1999, who did so on the back end of a double steal.

Newstex ID: YB-3525-34438996