Alex Cora Rips Reese McGuire for Near-Fatal Mistake vs. Nats

Tuesday’s contest was a little too close for comfort for the Red Sox. Though Boston eventually pulled out the 5-4 win over the lowly Nationals, it wasn’t all good vibes afterwards.

Manager Alex Cora made sure to put catcher Reese McGuire on notice for his base running blunder in the fourth inning that could’ve cost the team.

The Red Sox were in a great spot to blow the game open in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded and no one out. A sac fly by Alex Verdugo allowed Jarren Durant to score easily, but McGuire also attempted to advance on the play. He was promptly thrown out at second, suddenly leaving Pablo Reyes alone at third with two outs in the blink of an eye.

Thankfully, a wild pitch allowed Reyes to score soon after, giving Boston a 5-4 lead it never relinquished. McGuire’s gaffe still isn’t excusable, though, and Cora made sure to remind him after the game.

"“We cannot do that. You know, we went from bases loaded, no outs to man at third and two outs. So we cannot do that. There’s no more excuses about that.”"

These base running mistakes are starting to become a disturbing trend for the catcher. It was less than two weeks ago that McGuire cost the Red Sox a comeback bid against the Blue Jays after he nonchalantly advanced on a ball that he thought was a home run. Instead, Toronto centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier caught it and promptly threw McGuire out for the game-ending double play.

Core is absolutely right: these mistakes can’t happen. That’s especially the case for a team in the thick of a heated Wild Card race. The margin for error is so slim that even one game-costing blunder can be the difference between making the playoffs and not.

It’s also on Cora, though, to ensure his coaching staff is doing everything it can to keep this stuff from happening. We’ve now seen McGuire look extremely foolish on the base paths twice in two weeks — the Red Sox need to nip this in the bud before it hurts them even more.

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