So much for the Red Sox having it all figured out

This is all going to be a work in progress.

That was the biggest takeaway from the Red Sox’s 6-5, 11-inning loss to the Reds in Cincinnati. It was the kind of 3 hours and 32 minutes that reminded us all that, as much as we thought this team had it all figured out thanks to its Opening Day win, there are a whole lot of lessons to be learned.

At the top of the list when it comes to the Sox’s perception about-face involved Roman Anthony, the leadoff hitter who deservedly got all kinds of atta-boys in Game 1 after keeping the ninth inning alive by turning an inning-ending strikeout into a walk that paved the way for two more runs thanks to his well-timed tap on the head. This time, however, Anthony’s strategy of questioning a called strike backfired, burning the visitors’ second and final challenge in the third inning.

With catcher Carlos Narvaez having already unsuccessfully challenged a Sonny Gray second-inning pitch, it left the Red Sox without a challenge on a day they could sure use some. That was the lesson: When there is an umpire like CB Bucknor, who faced eight challenges against him, six of which were overturned, you want to be able to turn the tables when it counts most.

For the majority of spring training, the challenges were flying fast and furious early in the games, with players tapping their helmets as early as the very first at-bat. The idea was for the regulars to get a feel for it before being pulled midway through the Grapefruit League contests. There was also the underlying belief that the challenges should be saved for the most impactful bats, the likes of which Anthony represented.

But resisting that early-game urge has become one of the many alterations needed now that a third deck is involved.

"It just goes back to me kind of wasting that second one. It can’t happen," Anthony told reporters. "And unfortunately, you just lose them. We saw how that worked out. It’s a lesson. We’ll take it as a lesson, at least I will."

“We learned a lot today,” Cora said. “From my end, there were some calls that we didn’t agree (with), but we had no challenges. So we had to live with it."

Speaking of living with it, Bucknor's day wasn't only defined by the wave of overturned challenges. There was an eighth-inning called third strike on Trevor Story, which the veteran umpire immediately called after mistakenly defining that Story didn't check his swing.

The call paved the way for Story to show a level of anger he hadn't shown in all his years with the Red Sox, along with the eventual ejection of Alex Cora.

"He has one job to do, it’s call balls and strikes,” Cora said of Bucknor. “It wasn’t his best day. That’s what the system does. It’s out there. Everybody sees it, and he’ll be the first one to accept it. I saw him putting his head down after one of the challenges. We’re all human. It’s not easy, what we do and what he does."

The emotions of it all will undoubtedly be part of this new ABS equation.

For instance, the Astros are heading into Sunday undoubtedly doubting their process, having come up on empty on all five of their challenges. Royals catcher Salvador Perez, conversely, is probably feeling pretty confident having nailed all four of his challenges. And, as a team, the Reds have seen all six of the head-taps by their hitters bear fruit, with Eugenio Suarez overturning back-to-back initially called third strikes against Red Sox rookie reliever Ryan Watson.

Speaking of Watson ...

Of the positive lessons learned for the Red Sox, the Rule 5 candidate topped Cora's club's list. Sure, there was the reminder that Wilyer Abreu has a flair for utilizing the long ball at the most opportune times, this time sending the game into extra innings with a two-out solo blast. That, along with Story's homer, showed that there might be some pop in this lineup, after all.

But it was Watson's performance and composure on the biggest stage he had ever performed on that stood out, particularly after lowering his heart rate following Suarez's two challenges. He helped keep the Red Sox hanging around with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

"That's probably the loudest I've heard a stadium while I was pitching. It was intense," the 28-year-old told reporters.

There were other subtle wake-up calls. Ceddanne Rafaela ill-advisedly swinging at 3-0 pitch in the eighth inning against a pitcher in Tony Santillan who just threw seven straight balls. Or an offense that went back to its swing-and-miss ways, striking out 15, which helped lead the Sox to go just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

So, much for 162-0, and so much for having it all figured out.

Welcome to the work-in-progress 2026 season.