On the fence: Youkilis drive sits on wall

Fans watch as a ball that popped loose out of New York Yankees' Johnny Damon's glove rests momentarily on the fence before dropping to the ground during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball action Friday, July 4, 2008 at Yankee Stadium in New York. Damon made a leaping attempt on a hit by Red Sox's Kevin Youkilis. Two runs scored on the play. Damon left the game after the play. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

NEW YORK—Kevin Youkilis' drive squirted out of the webbing of Johnny Damon's glove and bounced up off the top of the left-field wall in the third inning of Friday's game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

And bounced. And bounced.

The ball came to rest on top of the fence, which was shaking from the impact of the Yankees left fielder crashing into it as he tried to make a leaping catch. And there the ball sat for several tantalizing seconds. The sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium wondered: Would it fall behind for a home run, roll back onto the field or just sit there?

Finally, the ball dropped back in and landed near Damon, who was sprawled on the warning track. A fan behind the fence frantically pointed to where the ball was.

Youkilis cruised into third base with a two-run triple that tied it at 3.

After Damon threw the ball back to the infield, Yankees manager Joe Girardi and a trainer attended to Damon, who was holding his ribs and shaking his arm.

Damon left the game and was replaced by Brett Gardner. He was diagnosed with a bruised and sprained left shoulder following an X-ray and MRI. Damon will be re-evaluated Saturday.

What would have been the call if the ball had remained on the top of the fence?

"The guess is that if it had stayed there, it would have been a home run because it had broken the front plane, but we'll discuss it with supervisors in the next few days," said Mike Port, Major League Baseball's vice president of umpiring. "The great thing about this game is that after 100 or more years, you still see things that may not have happened before."