This was the exact opposite of a vibe the Red Sox wanted to land with heading into the final game of their three-game series with the Blue Jays.
It was the kind of nightmare of scenario that made the previous two Trade Deadline early-August trampolines seem like forgettable bumps the road. Nobody was forgetting this day.
By the time the Red Sox left their clubhouse, hoping Sunday would be their solution, this is what they were left with:
- A 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays that bumped the Red Sox to four games back of Toronto in the race for the final Wild Card.
- An unforgettable game-ending sequence that rightfully put baserunner Reese McGuire and third base coach Carlos Febles in the criticism crosshairs.
"I think we all missed that one,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora of the double play that punctuated a miserable day for the Red Sox. “I think Reese took off and then Carlos was looking at [Luis] Urías [running from first base]. Everybody thought it was going to be [at least] off the wall, and it was a bad play, a bad baseball play. All around, for us, we all thought it was gone."
- A roster construction that has forced the Red Sox to roll out nine different pitchers in the series' first two games (with reliever Joe Jacques appearing twice).
- Heightened pregame and postgame drama thanks to Alex Cora's benching of Alex Verdugo, leaving the Red Sox short in a game the manager was forced to bob and weave his way through matchups while leading to unanswered postgame questions. (It appears as though Verdugo's tardiness - reportedly showing up for work just two hours before first pitch - may have been to blame.)
- And, of course, the punctuation. One of the most pointed quotes of Cora's managerial careers.
"This is probably one of my worst days here in this organization," he said.
All of this has become the kind of mess that has quickly flipped the narrative from just a few days ago.
Suddenly, the grip the Red Sox had on the cliff so many American League teams are hanging from just got more tenuous than anyone in the organization was banking on heading into the second week of August.
And to make matter worse, it sure seems as though forces - such as the Verdugo drama - are pushing this team down at a time where reinforcements - Trevor Story, etc. - were supposed to be lifting them up.
A race against time seems to be getting increasingly shorter ... and uncomfortable.
It has left the Red Sox needing to lean on yet another bullpen game, while being forced to come up with their most unexpected about-face of this roller coaster season.
The Red Sox need answers. But, even more importantly, the Red Sox need wins. If they don't get both in a hurry, they will truly be defining themselves as this playoff race's biggest underdogs.
