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Red Sox fans head home with J.D. Martinez’s homerun ball thanks to Astros fan

HOUSTON, Texas — Game 2 of the American League Championship Series was a night to remember for Red Sox fans Sean Tarmey and Joanna Napolitano.

“J.D. Martinez was at-bat. The ball came out to us and eventually fell into our hands,” said Tarmey.

That grand slam ball landed in the hands of an Astros fan they met – and struck a deal with – before the game started.

“We made a deal at the beginning of the game. If I caught an Astros home run, I would give it to him, and if he caught a Red Sox home run, he would give it to me,” said Tarmey.

That fan honored his deal.

“He held on to his word. We ended up going up to buy him a jersey afterward because I mean, how do you repay a grand slam ball?!” said Joanna Napolitano.

Napolitano and Tarmey are rare Red Sox fans from New York, but they’re certainly not alone in being a part of Red Sox Nation from out of state.

“Look, I’m a Texas girl, but this is the way it needs to be,” said Jennifer Shaw. “We’re going to annihilate them!”

Boston 25 News bumped into Shaw Sunday as she was vacationing in Boston and preparing for a tour of Fenway Park. Shaw is still riding a high from Saturday’s epic Game 2 after watching the game in a bar outside Fenway.

“It was amazing. It was what I hoped for,” said Shaw. “We went to Fenway Freddy’s and saw the two grand slams, and everybody was freaking out. It was amazing.”

Lifelong Red Sox fan Matt Dube flew in from his home state of North Carolina to watch Game 3 at Fenway Monday night.

“Hopefully, we can just quit the series right here, you know the Astros are a good team, but hopefully, we can pull it out until the end,” said Dube. “They’re [the Red Sox] an awesome team. We’re going to win a world championship this year. We’re good to go.”