A peculiar chain of events in Thursday's game between the Red Sox and the Royals led in Boston manager Alex Cora being ejected from the game, seemingly in mid-sentence, by home plate umpire Bill Welke.
The problem started in the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Red Sox trailed Kansas City 4-3 and had two Royals on base. Catcher Salvador Pérez hit a line drive down the left-field line that looked to scrape the foul pole before bouncing back into play.
The hit was called a home run after an umpire review, and picture evidence seemed to corroborate that ruling just barely. With that, the Royals grabbed a 7-3 lead, which proved to be the game's final score.
Cora was upset with the umpires' explanation of their verdict following the review. According to Boston.com, the Red Sox broadcast on NESN stated that the crew couldn't determine whether the ball was fair or foul, prompting a conversation between Cora and Welke.
What began as a typical debate quickly devolved into a weird ejection: Welke plainly didn't agree with something Cora said, despite the fact that the latter appeared very cool in his chat with the plate umpire. Cora was understandably stunned by the expulsion and remained on the field for several moments to argue.
Cora did not go into depth about his conversation with Welke.
"I was calmly asking what happened and stuff," Cora explained. "He kicked me out. It occurs, I suppose."
The Red Sox manager later stated that the ball was fair, but not a home run. He also refused to blame the game's outcome on the call. Even if the ball had been deemed a double or triple, the Royals would have had a 6-3 or 5-3 lead; the outcome would have been the same regardless, because Boston did not score another run.
"That didn't win the game," Cora clarified. "We walked the ninth batter twice, and he reached base three times." We have two lefties who we need to do a better job with. We have to improve. We can't rely on only three or four men. It's a collaborative endeavor."
The Red Sox (53-54, last in the AL East) are now 4-6 in their last ten games and 1-2 since the trade deadline on Tuesday.
After an even crazier home run, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was ejected in odd fashion against the Royals. (2022). Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/mlb/news/red-sox-alex-cora-ejected-royals-home-run/ix8bnkx9woulkir1u6kcuvh3