The Boston Red Sox finished Wednesday afternoon's game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field under protest.
The Rays made a few smart, but confusing pitching and defensive substitutions in the top of the eighth inning that involved, at one point, having two Tampa Bay pitchers on the field at the same time. A 14-minute delay in the top of the eighth resulted from the situation, and then another delay happened to begin the bottom half of the inning. In total, one pitch was thrown over a 23-minute span.
"They did the pitcher moving to a position. We felt they made some illegal substitutions," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters after Boston's 3-2 loss. "It was a mess at one point. I wasn't even to keep up with (umpire Angel Hernandez). We protested the game. Let's see where it goes."
Cora later admitted: "I don't know what's going to happen."
Here's what Hernandez told a pool reporter about the lengthy delay:
The Red Sox need to quickly turn the page after a frustrating end to an otherwise successful series versus the Rays. The Sox took two of three games from Tampa Bay, and now the defending World Series champs return to Boston for a pivotal four-game set with the rival Yankees at Fenway Park.
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