ESPN’s new gimmick during “Sunday Night Baseball” provided some entertaining moments during the Red Sox’s 4-3 victory over the Yankees.

Boston center fielder Kiké Hernandez was mic’d up for a live interview with the broadcasters in the bottom of the fourth inning as he played in the outfield, a quirk the network experimented with in spring training but is trying out during the regular season this year. On Sunday night, it provided for some fun television as Hernandez reacted in real time to the game as it unfolded.

With Anthony Rizzo at bat, Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second and Jose Trevino at first, Boston pitcher Ryan Brasier threw a pitch in the dirt, allowing both runners to advance. From center field, Hernandez sized up the situation to the broadcast booth aptly.

“Fast guy at third (Kiner-Falefa), slow guy at second (Trevino). If he gets a base hit to me I’m going to throw him out at home, maybe,” Hernandez said.

Prophetically, on the next pitch, Rizzo lined a hit to Hernandez in center. “Here it is!” the Sox outfielder grunted as he sprinted to the ball – and tried, exactly as he said, to throw Trevino out at home.

Unfortunately for him, while his throw was on a line, the cutoff man intercepted it and let the runner score, holding Rizzo to a single in the process.

It was a fascinating TV moment watching a player narrate the game as it unfolded live, but it wasn’t the only noteworthy sound bite of the night. At one point, announcer Karl Ravech asked Hernandez – who joined Boston in 2021 after playing six seasons for the Dodgers – how the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry compared to Dodgers-Giants.

“Pretty similar, but colder,” Hernandez quipped.

He also nominated Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies – whose team will play the Padres in next week’s “Sunday Night Baseball” – to be the next player mic’d up for the segment.

ESPN emptied the bag of tricks for their first “SNB” of the year, and while the debut of the “Kay-Rod Broadcast” – with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez – earned mixed reviews, this segment is certainly one we would like to see again.