Red Sox Notes: Alex Cora Explains Eighth-Inning Ejection Vs. Rays

Frustrations boiled over for Red Sox manager Alex Cora just before the Tampa Bay Rays took their third straight victory over Boston at Fenway Park on Monday night.

The Red Sox came up short once again in the offensive output department, plating just one run. That, coupled with Tampa Bay’s killer instinct to strike at the best possible times, helped them outscore the Red Sox, 14-5, in the final three games of their four-game set, putting Boston at an even 30-30 through its first 60 games of the season.

Aside from Justin Turner’s solo home run in the sixth inning, the biggest sign of life in the series finale came from the Red Sox dugout and Cora himself, who was ejected in the bottom of the eighth inning after Rafael Devers went down looking and called the umpires out for what he felt was a poorly handled at-bat from their end.

“The first to Raf, it was a pitch violation,” Cora told reporters after the 4-1 loss, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “If we’re gonna play this game of the clock and all this stuff, we gotta call it the right way. The other ones I get it, you know, they were actually strikes — (the ones on) Turner and Raffy. But the 1-0 count with (runners on) first and second and two outs, it’s a different at-bat, and that one either is a ball or is a pitch. … I was so upset.”

Cora added: “If my kids are gonna see me get thrown out, make sure they see it the right way.”

The Red Sox only managed to respond to the Rays with six base hits, going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and recording only two extra-base hits. Devers, who had a pair of singles in his 2-for-4 effort, finished as Boston’s only player with a multi-hit night, summarizing an ongoing costly trend that’s haunted the Red Sox since their nine-game West Coast road trip at the end of May.

Remaining at the bottom of the American League East, Cora sees just one option for the Red Sox to battle back before the season officially reaches a dicey point.

“Play better baseball, man,” Cora said.

Red Sox Wrap: Boston Falls Short, Fails To Split Series With Rays

Jun 5, 2023

Here are some more notes from Monday’s Red Sox-Rays game:

— The Red Sox have been held to two or fewer runs for three straight games, which has happened twice this season so far.

— Kiké Hernández, who entered the year as Boston’s primary shortstop, got the start in center field for the first time since April 22. He re-adjusted in the blink of an eye, robbing the Rays of a home run, which his partner in crime Alex Verdugo also did, to combine in preventing three sure-thing runs off the board.

— Pablo Reyes committed the only error of the game, booting a routine groundball at shortstop in the sixth inning. That raised the total of Red Sox errors to eight in the last seven games.

— Brayan Bello, who tossed six innings and allowed three runs off six hits with five strikeouts, has held opposing offenses to three or fewer runs for eight consecutive starts, dating back to April 24 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Bello has also pitched to a 2.84 ERA over the course of his last three starts, holding opponents to a .247 batting average in 38 innings.

“I felt good, I felt that my pitches were good. I had command of pretty much all of them so it was good,” Bello told reporters through a translator, as seen on NESN.

— Connor Wong, who went 1-for-3 with a single, extended his career-best on-base streak to 13 straight games.

— The Red Sox kick off a six-game road trip beginning Tuesday with the Cleveland Guardians. First pitch from Progressive Field is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus a full hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.