Boston Red Sox fans have become accustomed to watching bad baseball in August and September. They are also no strangers to having their intelligence insulted by management. But when they are subjected to both of those annoyances on the same night, they can only take so much. Following a bitter and certainly avoidable 4-3 extra-innings loss to the visiting Baltimore Orioles, manager Alex Cora had an eyebrow-raising explanation for a key missed opportunity in the game.

Trailing by one run in the bottom of the 11th inning, Red Sox catcher Connor Wong wisely bunted over ghost runner Nate Eaton, who was brought into the game specifically for his speed. The small-ball tactic worked to perfection and set the stage for stellar rookie Roman Anthony to tie the game with his steady bat. Although the 21-year-old did not drive the ball quite as far as he wanted to, he still hit it into the outfield. Orioles center fielder Colton Cowser made the catch and sailed the throw way off line. The crowd erupted, but only briefly, for it realized that Eaton did not cross home plate.

Alex Bregman popped out to second and Boston suffered a stomach-churning defeat that Red Sox Nation will vividly remember if the team narrowly misses the playoffs. When asked why third base coach Kyle Hudson did not urge Eaton to tag from third and attempt to score the game-tying run, Cora offered a rather curious, analytics-fueled response.

“That’s an impact arm in center field,” the 2018 World Series-winning skipper told reporters after the game, via Tyler Milliken of 98.5 The Sports Hub. “We prepare before the series and we decide who we’re going to challenge or not. So, we didn’t challenge him.” He repeated the reply when one media member asked who made the call.

Alex Cora says before the series they decided not to challenge Colton Cowser because of his arm.

95th percentile Arm Strength for Cowser. 95th percentile Spring Speed for Nate Eaton.

Finished 0-for-13 with RISP. pic.twitter.com/iWiYe8Rs6K

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) August 20, 2025

Red Sox put their fans through a nightmare in Fenway

Maybe Cora is simply defending his third base coach, but regardless, he could have approached this crucial question much better. Cowser’s arm strength does indeed rank in the upper echelon of baseball, as Milliken notes above, but so does Eaton’s sprint speed. The whole point in bunting is to set up for the sacrifice fly. Why hand an out to the Orioles if you are only going to execute the play under optimal conditions?

Trusting an All-Star like Bregman to save the day is reasonable in most cases, but the team had just one life to spare. Desperate situations require risk. Instead of allowing the climate of the game to dictate such a huge decision, the Red Sox stuck to the blueprint they mapped out long before a pitch was ever thrown. These are the type of instances that have people saying “back in my day.”

However, Cora’s questionable call was far from the only thing that warrants scrutiny. Boston’s most egregious mistake recurred throughout the night: failing to take advantage of golden offensive opportunities.

Trailing 3-1, the club had the bases loaded with no outs in the eighth inning. Jarren Duran, Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida all struck out in succession. With the score tied 3-3 in the ninth, Story grounded out on a fielder’s choice. The Sox then positioned themselves for another favorable shot at victory in the 10th — runners on first and third with one out — but Abraham Toro hit into a double play. There is obviously more than enough blame to go around.

However, that troubling sequence of despair makes it even harder to understand the passive approach to dealing with Cowser’s arm. After squandering so many scoring chances, did Boston really have much confidence in its ability to get a big knock? That question deserves an answer, but it is irrelevant at this point.

It’s gut-check time

Fans can only hope that the team chooses to operate with a little more feel and little less predetermination should a similar situation arise. The offense must also wake up in a hurry. The Red Sox (68-59) are behind the Aaron Judge-led New York Yankees once again and are only two and a half games clear of the danger zone in the American League Wild Card standings.

What began as a promising homestand has quickly descended into one of the most frustrating three-day stretches in Fenway Park this year. Boston must regroup and brace itself for a critical road trip to The Bronx.