NEW YORK — With two outs and the score tied at 3-3 in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s Game 2, Masataka Yoshida legged out an infield single, loading the bases and giving Trevor Story an opportunity to blow the game open.
But had Nate Eaton been sent home on the play, the Red Sox likely could have taken the lead right then and there.
Eaton being held at third became a hot topic following the game, with much of the postgame analysis suggesting that if the speedy outfielder had been sent, he could have scored easily.
That is likely true, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday afternoon that while it might have seemed obvious from the replays, making a split second decision like that in real time isn’t as easy as it looks.
“It’s the hardest job in baseball, besides this of course, but I’ve never been in that third base coaching box. Never,” Cora said. “So for people just to say this and that, it’s hard. It’s very hard.”
Cora said that from field level third base coach Kyle Hudson would have had several complicating factors on the play. Masataka Yoshida dove into first base, which could have obscured the view from third and prevented him from seeing right away that the ball had gotten away from first baseman Ben Rice.
“It’s far, you’ve got Masa diving, you’ve got Rice looking for the ball,” Cora said. “So it’s not that easy.”
Following the play Story flew out to the warning track, ending the inning and stranding the bases loaded. The Red Sox went on to lose 4-3 after the Yankees rallied against Garrett Whitlock in the bottom of the eighth.
