Another baffling catcher's interference has Red Sox fans cursing the baseball gods

The Boston Red Sox made the wrong kind of baseball history against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, becoming the first team in some 50 years to lose a game on a walk-off catcher's interference call. The fact that the interference came on an extremely late check swing from infielder Edmundo Sosa just added insult to injury.

But the beauty of baseball is that there's always another game. Boston was right back at it on Tuesday night, with a chance to erase the memory of a brutal loss. And besides, it's not like the team would find itself on the wrong end of another controversial catcher's interference call, right? ... right?

In unrelated news, here's what happened when Bryce Harper tried to steal home in the bottom of the first inning:

Yes, seriously: Carlos Narvaez was called for interference again, with home-plate umpire Edwin Jimenez ruling that he crossed in front of home plate while trying to receive the throw and tag Harper out. Not only was Harper ruled safe, but Nick Castellanos advanced from second to third and Brandon Marsh was awarded first base.

But wait, somehow it gets worse. While Monday's loss was a fluky play at the worst possible time, it was inarguable that the call was correct by the letter of the law. Tuesday, on the other hand, appears to have been a good old-fashioned ump show.

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Red Sox have legitimate beef after second straight game with catcher's interference call

Narvaez was called for interference because, in Jimenez's view, he crossed in front of home plate while receiving the throw from Richard Fitts. But that seems like a questionable ruling at best: Narvaez did step forward after Harper broke for home, but he never stepped on home, and it seems like he was awfully close to even with the plate when the throw arrived.

Even if Jimenez is technically correct here, it seems like picking nits, an umpire who was so obsessed with the letter of the law that he blew up what should've been a normal baseball play. Narvaez didn't really gain any undue advantage here, and Harper would've been safe regardless. Fitts was able to escape further trouble in the inning, but Marsh being given first and Castellanos advancing could've loomed very large.

Of course, Boston still only has itself to blame here; if you don't want to put your catcher in that position, don't allow Harper to pull off a straight steal of home to start a crucial game against a fellow postseason hopeful. But something tells me that won't be Red Sox Nation's takeaway here.