In the ninth inning of the Boston Red Sox's 7-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park on Thursday, Boston's manager, Alex Cora, took exception with the umpires of the contest.
Rays manager Kevin Cash came out to speak to reliever Jason Adam with the intent of leaving him in the game, but Tampa Bay didn't have any more mound visits to use. By rule, the Rays should've been forced to make the pitching change.
Instead, Cora had to argue for the rule to be applied, allowing Erasmo Ramirez to begin getting loose and warming up in Tampa Bay's bullpen before coming into the game with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora is not pleased here in the bottom of the ninth. pic.twitter.com/SPNeXibYwl
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) May 17, 2024
After the game, Cora clarified his stance, as he went directly at the umpires and the Rays in his post-game media availability.
Alex Cora understandably pissed off about how much time Erasmo Ramirez got to warm-up. pic.twitter.com/1I5ripdGCm
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) May 17, 2024
Cora had every right to be upset because if Ramirez came in with only the eight warm-up pitches on the mount, the result could've been much different.
