It could have easily gone the other way, and the conversation could have remained what it has been for much of the season. But it didn't, and it has changed.
If the Guardians had any challenges left on the pitch thrown by Cleveland reliever Tim Herrin to Wilyer Abreu with two outs, the bases loaded, and a full count, the Red Sox would have simply been put in a familiar pickle - trailing by a run heading into the final two innings while having to deal with their opponent's high-leverage relievers.
But there were no challenges left for the Guardians, so what should have been a strike was called a ball, forcing in the game-tying run and setting the stage for what would be a game-changing six-run seventh.
The reversal of fortune was a welcome reality for a Red Sox team that left Progressive Field with a 9-4 win and more optimism than they have had since exiting Kansas City a couple of weeks ago.
The missed call on the Abreu at-bat was part of the solution. But really, all it did was open a door that the Red Sox's lineup has been walking through more than perhaps any time this season. It is actually starting to feel like they are entering June a little less helpless than they were in the season's first two months.
While the struggles at Fenway Park have yet to be resolved, it's hard to ignore the change in the overall vibe throughout this team's lineup.
Since May 19, the Red Sox have the third-best OPS in baseball (.813), ironically just behind the other team that has also been living in the basement of offensive production, the Giants. Perhaps more importantly, during that time, the Sox have also totaled the ninth-most runs, and eighth-most extra-base hits and total bases.
Then there is the feeling, the one that has been altered at both the top and bottom of the batting order.
The catalyst for the change is undeniably Jarren Duran, who is living life as the hitter other teams are worrying about well before he even steps to the plate. Using that mid-May jumping off point, the Sox's leadoff hitter his hitting .347 with a 1.186 (6th-best in MLB) over the 11 games. Also, only Juan Soto has hit more homers than Duran's six since May 19.
Duran hasn't been alone. Willson Contreras - who had to sit out Sunday with a sore hand/wrist - has been a perfect complement to the leadoff hitter, boasting a .421 batting average and 1.038 OPS over the same stretch.
But, perhaps most importantly, the RedSox have found a way to take advantage of the kind of opportunities that were presented in that seventh inning.
Since that second game in Kansas City, the Red Sox have the third-best OPS (.849) with runners in scoring position, with Caleb Durbin (5-fot-7), Duran (5-for-11), Contreras (5-for-13) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (5-for-12) being outrageously effective in such situations. Durbin's four hits with runners in scoring position were tops in all of baseball for the weekend's slate of games.
For the Cleveland series, the Red Sox totaled the third-most hits and fourth-most walks of any team in baseball over the last three games. Nine Sox hitters finished the trip to Cleveland, hitting .300 or better.
With or without the blown call on the Abreu at-bat, it has just felt a bit different.
Now comes the test of whether they can continue the vibes and production at their house of horrors, Fenway Park, before hitting the road to face off with two of the best pitching staffs (and teams) in baseball, the Yankees and Rays.
It's a start, one the Red Sox desperately needed to avoid being finished.
