Why Alex Cora Didn’t Mind Aggressive Red Sox Baserunning Mistake

What could have cut the lead down by one run for the Boston Red Sox turned into an out at home plate.

The Red Sox were down 3-1 to the Oakland Athletics with Jamie Westbrook on first base due to an error. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a double off the Green Monster off J.P. Sears who Boston was struggling to hit all night.

Westbrook and third base coach Kyle Hudson saw a chance for Boston to cut at Oakland’s lead. The second baseman rounded third and Hudson waved him home despite shortstop Max Schuemann having the ball in his hand.

Schuemann threw the ball hard to home plate and Westbrook tried to spin out of the way but was tagged out before he could touch the plate.

While the decision to send the runner by Hudson didn’t look like the right one, manager Alex Cora was not mad at the decision.

“Very aggressive,” Cora told reporters, per NESN’s postgame coverage. “We’ve been aggressive for 80-something games, so we’ll take it. We’re going to push the envelope. Most of the time it’s going to work, on that one it didn’t work.”

The Red Sox added just one more run on Wednesday on a Tyler O’Neill single with the bases loaded on two outs. Despite the bases staying loaded, Rafael Devers grounded out to end the inning.

Boston ended the game, falling to Oakland, 5-2 to even the series. The Red Sox will have a chance to bounce back in the series on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET with all game coverage on NESN.