The Boston Red Sox entered their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday riding high, having just taken two of three from the rival New York Yankees and welcoming Roman Anthony, the best prospect in baseball, to the Majors. It seemed like the tide might finally be turning for a team that seemed about ready to come apart at the seems just a week or two ago.
Instead, the Red Sox delivered more of the frustrating same — with a very big assist from some very questionable umpiring. Anthony was unable to register his first big-league hit, but Boston's offense kept rolling anyway, erasing an early 3-0 deficit and scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings. But time and again, the team had a chance to put Tampa Bay away and failed to do so, stranding the winning run 90 feet from home in both the ninth and 10th.
That allowed the umpires to put their stamp on things in the 11th. Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly walked i in the go-ahead run on a close pitch to Junior Caminero in the top half. Then, in the bottom half of the frame, Romy Gonzalez was punched out on a pitch that sure seemed like it should have been ball four. At that point, Cora had seen enough, all but forcing home-plate ump Junior Valentine to eject him.
Alex Cora being tossed for the second time this season.
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) June 10, 2025
Just had to do it after how things played out for Zack Kelly. pic.twitter.com/qByjySISlL
You can understand why Cora was upset, both because of the circumstances surrounding the loss and because of the inconsistency in Valentine's strike zone. And you can understand why Red Sox fans might be looking for an umpire to blame for this latest frustrating loss; had Gonzalez walked, it would've put the tying run in scoring position with only one out.
But both Cora and Red Sox Nation, ultimately, have no one to blame but themselves. The story of this defeat wasn't the umpiring crew, or bad luck. It was the same deficiencies that have plagued this team all season, ones that not even Anthony can fix.
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Roman Anthony alone can't fix what's wrong with the Red Sox
The Red Sox went a whopping 4-for-23 with runners in scoring position on the night. If you're looking for something to pin this loss on, you can start there, as Boston had a ton of chances to put this game to bed and simply failed to take advantage.
Even beyond that, though, eight runs should usually be enough to win you more games than not. This Boston pitching staff, however, continues to search for answers, with another meh outing from Brayan Bello followed by four consecutive relievers who allowed at least one run. There just aren't enough reliable options for Cora to hand the ball to; that, more than anything else, threatens to be what keeps the Red Sox from making a postseason push.
Anthony sure looks like a future star, and slotting him into the outfield undoubtedly makes Boston a better team. But he can only do so much, especially as a rookie, and especially as someone who isn't a pitcher. The Red Sox need a way to consistently get outs, particularly late in games, and no answers seem forthcoming.