At a boiling point in the 11th inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected after arguing a called third strike on Romy Gonzalez—a pitch Cora insisted was low. The moment reflected not just one call, but a game full of mounting tension and missed chances.
Cora’s reaction came in a critical moment of Boston’s 10-8 extra-innings loss to the Rays. With two on and one out, Gonzalez took a 3-2 fastball that dipped below the strike zone, but home plate umpire Junior Valentine called it strike three. Gonzalez was ejected, and Cora stormed out of the dugout to defend his player.
“It was a ball. That pitch was a ball,” Cora said postgame. “It was down. He was really good, actually, during the day. But it was down.”
As MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo shared on X, formerly Twitter, Cora was firm in his belief that the call was flat-out wrong. It marked his second ejection of the season and symbolized a larger frustration permeating the club.
The Red Sox’s struggles to produce in extra innings continued Monday, falling to 4-8 in such games after going just 4-for-23 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, Zack Kelly issued the go-ahead walk after believing he had struck out Junior Caminero twice earlier in the inning—adding to the frustration with Junior Valentine’s inconsistent strike zone.
Adding insult to injury, the loss overshadowed the highly anticipated Roman Anthony debut. The Red Sox’s top prospect went 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout and a walk, but also committed an error in right field that led to an unearned run.
Tension had been building all game. Reliever Brennan Bernardino threw his glove in frustration after being pulled in the 7th. Defensive miscues, command issues, and umpiring decisions all collided in a crushing late-game collapse.
Now sitting at 32-36 and fourth in the AL East, Boston has lost four of its last five extra-inning games. And with frustrations boiling over, Cora’s ejection felt like a breaking point in a game the Red Sox had every chance to win—but couldn’t finish.
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