On Wednesday afternoon, the bottom of the seventh inning quickly shifted from hopeful to exasperating for the Red Sox.
With the game tied 2-2, Rafael Devers came to bat with runners on first and second and one out. The All-Star third baseman hit a shallow pop-up that invoked the infield fly rule. The inning concluded when Tyler O’Neill was called out for interfering with Justin Turner, despite O’Neill not even being the player who caught the ball.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora swiftly came out to discuss the call with the first-base umpire but left the field looking dissatisfied with the explanation. Even after his team secured a walk-off win and clinched the series, Cora remained puzzled.
“It’s infield fly. The batter is out,” Cora explained to reporters, according to MassLive. “Then he was out because he impeded the fielder from catching the ball.”
Meanwhile, Anthony, one of Boston’s top prospects, stirred up concern among Red Sox fans just before the MLB trade deadline. His absence from the Portland Sea Dogs’ lineup on Tuesday night caused a flurry of speculation, especially given the timing. However, it turned out to be just a routine night off, and he remains a vital part of the team’s future.
He returned to action on Thursday and had an impressive night, hitting his 12th and 13th home runs of the season in his first career multi-homer game. The first homer was particularly notable, blasted at 116 mph, making it the hardest-hit ball by any Red Sox player this season, as noted by Baseball America.
