One of those rare instances when a pitcher is forced to enter an American League team’s batting order led to on-field confusion, a 20-minute delay and, ultimately, the Boston Red Sox playing Wednesday game under protest.
The issue centered on the Tampa Bay Rays’ substitutions, starting in the seventh inning when Ji-Man Choi pinch-hit for catcher Mike Zunino. Everything was fine as Choi remained in the game to play first base and Travis d’Arnaud moved from first to catcher.
But when Rays manager Kevin Cash shifted pitcher Adam Kolarek to first base after he retired the first batter in the top of the eighth and brought in reliever Chaz Roe, he didn’t specify which pitcher would replace designated hitter Austin Meadows in the batting order.
That brought bewildered Red Sox manager Alex Cora out of the dugout to argue with home plate umpire Angel Hernandez — with two separate discussions delaying the game by at least 20 minutes.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora questions umpires about a lineup change made by the Rays in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s game in St. Petersburg.
KIM KLEMENT, USA TODAY SPORTS
“We felt that they made some illegal substitutions,” Cora said. “It was a mess at one point. I wasn’t even able to keep up with Angel, so we protested the game.”
Hernandez’s umpiring crew concluded that the Rays didn’t gain any advantage from the lineup shuffle, so Kolarek was put in the No. 3 spot in the order and Roe in the No. 9 spot.
“There appeared to be some confusion, but I’m confident that we got it right,” Cash said. The Rays were able to hold onto their 3-2 lead and win the game.
As for the protest, Rule 7.04 states: “(N)o replay of the game will be ordered unless in the opinion of the League President the violation adversely affected the protesting team’s chances of winning the game.”
The last time a protest was upheld was in 2014, when the San Francisco Giants protested that umpires called a game due to rain too soon.
