A series of strange events in Thursday’s game between the Red Sox and Royals resulted in Boston manager Alex Cora being ejected from the game, apparently mid-sentence by home plate umpire Bill Welke.
The affair began in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Red Sox trailing Kansas City 4-3 and two Royals on base. Catcher Salvador Pérez launched a drive down the left field line where it appeared to graze the foul pole and back into the infield.
Salvador Perez unleashes a three-run blast off the foul pole 🔥#TogetherRoyal #Dirty water #Royal #Red stockings #MLB pic.twitter.com/M3j6A3mk2v
— Baseball Today (@dailymlbtweets) August 5, 2022
An umpire review ruled the hit a home run, and photo evidence seems to support that decision (barely). With that, the Royals took a 7-3 lead, which ended up being the final score of the game.
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After the review, Cora appeared unhappy with the umpires’ explanation for their decision. As noted via Boston.com, the Red Sox broadcast on NESN reported that the crew could not explain whether the ball was fair or foul, resulting in a discussion between Cora and Welke.
What started as a routine discussion turned into a strange ejection: Welke clearly didn’t like something Cora said, even though the latter appeared perfectly calm in his conversation with the plate umpire. Cora was naturally shocked by the ejection and stayed on the field for a few moments to argue.
Alex Cora is brought out for what appears to be a light conversation pic.twitter.com/KP9SQEo7Cj
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 5, 2022
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Cora has not explained in detail the conversation he had with Welken.
“I was pretty cool asking what happened and whatever,” Cora said. “He threw me out. It happens, I guess.”
The Red Sox manager said afterward that he thought the ball was fair, just not a home run. He also didn’t blame the call for the game’s outcome. (Even if the ball had doubled or tripled, the Royals would have had a 6-3 or 5-3 lead; the score wouldn’t have changed either way, given that Boston didn’t score another run).
“It didn’t decide the game,” Cora added. “We walked two batters in the ninth, he got on base three times. We have two lefties there that we need to do a better job. We have to be better. We can’t rely on three or four guys. It’s a total team effort.”
With that, the Red Sox (53-54, last in the AL East) fall to 4-6 in their last 10 games and 1-2 since Tuesday’s trade deadline.
