Red Sox Notes: How Alex Cora Felt About Masataka Yoshida Base-Running

Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida attempted to stretch a double into a triple during the fourth inning of Boston’s 7-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Unfortunately for both Yoshida and the Red Sox, he was easily thrown out at third base for the second out of the inning. Making it even worse for Boston was that Connor Wong hit a wall-ball double to left field the very next batter. It almost certainly would have produced a one-out run should Yoshida have been standing on second base rather than in the Red Sox dugout.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked about Yoshida’s base-running decision on the play and said he didn’t take issue with it.

“He’s being aggressive,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It took two perfect throws to get him out, but we don’t mind him being aggressive.”

The Red Sox have been aggressive on the base paths this season with the likes of speedy outfielder Jarren Duran and others. But this one might be a fair second guess, given Yoshida doesn’t have the same wheels.

And in a one-run result, those plays certainly can add up.

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Here are more notes from Red Sox-Diamondbacks:

— Another questionable play took place when Red Sox left fielder Tyler O’Neil missed the cutoff man during the fifth inning. O’Neil recorded the putout on a sacrifice fly by Corbin Carroll and tried to throw Eugenio Suarez out at the plate. His throw to Wong was off the mark and allowed Luis Guillorme to advance from second to third. Guillorme scored on the an RBI single the next play.

Similarly, Cora did not take any issue with O’Neil’s throw to Wong.

“He’s trying to throw out the guy at the plate. He overthrew the cutoff guy, but I think the intention was to get the guy at third base. He’s right there. He makes that throw nine out of 10 times.”

— The loss Sunday marked the third time the Red Sox were swept at Fenway Park this season.

“We lost three games,” Cora said. “We got to show up tomorrow, we got two. We got to turn the page just like we’ve been doing all season and be ready for tomorrow.”

— Tanner Houck, who allowed six runs on seven hits in six innings, shouldered his share of blame after the defeat. The Red Sox right-hander pointed to his command and walks (four) as a key issue. Cora called Houck “erratic.”

“I’m harder on myself than anyone else so every loss sucks,” Houck told reporters, as seen on NESN. “I beat myself today with the walks. That’s all you can really say.”

— Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez absolutely dominated Boston pitching in the series. Suarez went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs in the finale, concluding the three-game series a ridiculous 9-for-13 with 10 RBIs.

“He was a monster the whole weekend,” Cora said of Suarez.

— Rafael Devers hit the 200th home run of his career, which is the 11th most in Boston history. Cora praised Devers for his consistency.

“At his age and what he’s done in this ballpark, he’s really good at what he does,” Cora said. “To go straight center on that pitch, that’s impressive.”

— The Red Sox welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to Fenway Park on Monday. Boston and Toronto will meet for a double-header with a previous weather-impacted matchup set to resume at 2 p.m. ET ahead of the 7 p.m. nightcap. There will be some history made in the afternoon, as well.