The Boston Red Sox suffered a blow out 16-1 defeat to the New York Yankees in their series finale which could be blamed on one disputed call in the fifth inning
The @Yankees put up 16 RUNS in their final regular season meeting with the Red Sox this year!
With the win, New York takes the season series over Boston! pic.twitter.com/SDv2hhXrCV
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 30, 2026
The Play
With the game still scoreless in the fifth, Ceddanne Rafaela dived to try to catch a sinking liner off the bat of Jazz Chisholm Jr., then fired to first hoping to complete a double play.
First base umpire Edwin Moscoso ruled it no catch, and the call stood after a replay review.
“I was really mad in the moment,” Rafaela said, per ESPN. “I really wanted to help my pitcher there. And I feel that changed the whole game right there.”
The Unraveling
Red Sox Interim manager Chad Tracy backed his center fielder.
“I know when you hear ‘call stands,’ not ‘call confirmed,’ that’s a pretty good indicator that they’re saying it’s very difficult to see anything on video for us to overturn on the field”.
“So, if you hear ‘call confirmed,’ that’s different. That’s not what you heard”
From there, the game turned around for the Red Sox starting with right-hander Ranger Suarez losing his footing.
The Yankees turned a scoreless game into a five-run inning
Suarez finished with 5⅓ innings and six runs allowed, his eighth straight start without completing six innings.
Bigger Picture
Boston is now 74-63, and the team’s deficit in the American League Wild Card race to New York has double to four games after falling to 6-7 against the Yankees this year.
It was a costly way to lose control of a series that had real playoff seeding implications, and it leaves Chad Tracy’s club needing to find answers fast
