Two intriguing narratives collided in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse. Before we unpack those narratives, let’s take a closer look at the Red Sox’s $21 million star’s return from the injured list. Across seven starts since his return, he has recorded an 8.59 ERA with an OPS against of .987. Clearly, it’s a lot more than just a minor slump.
The Red Sox’s veteran pitcher Walker Buehler has dealt with shoulder inflammation throughout last month. When he returned and recorded some poor numbers, it prompted the question of whether Buehler is really healthy. For the record, this question was raised in the Red Sox clubhouse right after Buehler’s latest outing, against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
The Angels handed the Red Sox a brutal 9-5 loss. In fact, Buehler entered this matchup with a shocking 10.5 ERA. The Red Sox gave Buehler a decent lead early in the game. Even then, during the bottom of the first inning, he threw 38 pitches, walked four batters, hit one, and ended up giving five runs to the Angels. In just the first inning, the Red Sox lost their lead.
Interesting contrast in Red Sox clubhouse. “Are you sure Buehler is healthy?” Cora: “100 percent.’ But when Buehler was asked if he was currently pitching through anything, he said: “I don’t want to talk about that.”
— Sean McAdam (@Sean_McAdam) June 24, 2025
Later, when manager Alex Cora was asked if Buehler was perfectly healthy, he didn’t hesitate and confidently said, “One hundred percent,” but when Buehler was asked if he was pitching through anything, it contradicted Cora’s. He said, “I don’t want to talk about that.” The mixed signals and conflicting responses can’t be ignored. While Cora responded with assurance, Buehler’s answer was completely vague.
Now, as if that contradiction wasn’t strange enough, consider the comments from pitching coach Andrew Bailey. “I’m not aware of any physical limitations,” he said. “The player is reporting good to us.” You could say he was on the same page as Cora, but with a different script. Well, this was yet another conflicting update on Buehler. He himself didn’t echo the same certainty as Bailey and Cora.
In all honesty, the team can’t afford any uncertainty at this point, especially after what happened on Monday night against the Los Angeles Angels.
Red Sox’ rough stretch amid Cora’s back-to-back ejections
The mixed signals from the Red Sox were strange. What’s even stranger is how the Red Sox end up in situations as chaotic as Monday night’s matchup. For two straight games, manager Cora was tossed out of the game. In fact, both times he was found arguing over missed calls on baserunning blunders. That too, when the team was already on the verge of breaking, as they lost to the Angels by 9-5.
During the third inning, an odd base-running miscue led to controversy. It started getting messy when Red Sox first baseman Abraham Toro hit a ground ball towards the shortstop. There were no outs when Jarren Duran was on second base. He attempted to run toward third but was tagged out after getting caught in a rundown. At the same time, Toro attempted to make it to second base. That action had him thrown out, and it resulted in a double play.
Then, Cora was seen arguing, believing that Angels infielder Luis Rengifo intentionally blocked the base before the ball reached his hand. This prompted the umpires to talk it out, but they still stuck with their initial call. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Cora’s ejection as he came out from the dugout for a heated exchange.
“We felt that the runner, no matter what the fielder had done in that situation, was out. He was out by a lot. And that’s part of also not calling the obstruction,” umpire Alan Porter said. This umpiring crew happens to be the same one that ejected him last season. In fact, it was for nearly the same reason. The reverse was that during that play, Boston was on the field when this rule was used to overturn a call at second base.
He emphasized that he tried to make the same point six months ago as well. Well, a lot has been happening in Boston, and there seems to be no end to the drama as of now.
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