Red Sox

Alex Cora thrown out of Red Sox vs. Royals after odd home-run call

"It happens, I guess."

By Tom Westerholm

August 4, 2022

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Red Sox manager Alex Cora had his night cut short in Thursday’s game against the Royals after an odd home-run call.

With the Red Sox trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh and two Royals runners on base, catcher Salvador Pérez hit a screaming line drive down the left-field line. The ball bounced off an ambiguous part of the foul pole and caromed into left field.

If the ball was ruled fair but not a homer, two runs would have scored comfortably, and Pérez might have gotten to third. Instead, after an umpire review, the hit was ruled a homer.

The explanation of the call was as ambiguous as the foul line. Per the Red Sox broadcast on NESN, the umpiring crew couldn’t definitively determine whether the ball hit a part of the field that was in play. They also couldn’t determine that the ball landed in foul territory.

Alex Cora did not appreciate the explanation and walked out to the mound calling for Welke.

The conversation appeared relatively calm — Cora even seemed to be wrapping up his comments to walk away when Welke tossed him. Looking stunned, Cora argued on the field for several minutes before walking back to the bullpen.

After the game, Cora told reporters he didn’t feel he should have been tossed.

“I was very calm asking what happened, and whatever,” Cora said. “He threw me out. It happens, I guess.”

Cora added that the Red Sox believed the hit was fair, just that it should not have been ruled a homer — likely a double or a triple, which would have put the Royals up 5-3 or 6-3 anyway.

“That didn’t decide the game,” Cora added. “We walked the ninth hitter twice, he got on base three times. We got two lefties there that we have to do a better job. We have to be better. We cannot rely on three or four guys. It’s a total team effort.”