“If we can get him (Willson Contreras) going, that turns things,” interim manager Chad Tracy noted after the Boston Red Sox’s 6-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday at Rogers Centre. And a dropped foul ball from Contreras in the 8th inning unraveled Boston’s comeback hopes, especially when the game was fairly even till the 7th inning, and then it became their fifth straight loss.  

“Willson Contreras dropped a foul ball that would have been an infield fly rule if fair. And Kazuma Okamoto immediately drove in the go-ahead run,” Jomboy Media captioned the post on X. 

The Toronto Blue Jays had been leading 1-0 since the second inning. Then, Contreras tied the score with a 408-foot homer in the 5th. But then he became the one, who caused a landslide in the 8th.

Ranger Suarez allowed just one run in over six innings. In the fifth, he faced back-to-back singles from Charles McAdoo and Brett Bateman, creating a threat for Boston. It was starting to get worse with Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s fastball shot to right field. But Wilyer Abreu became the savior, along with Contreras.

Abreu made a sliding catch of the sinking line drive, popped to his feet immediately, and fired a one-hop throw to Contreras at first base. They caught a stunned-looking Bateman off the bag for an inning-ending double play. But then came the bottom of the 8th, with two on and nobody out.

Boston reliever Tyron Guerrero allowed Vladimir Guerrero Jr to reach second, and Brandon Valenzuela was on first. Kazuma Okamoto hit a 99-mph sinker, lining a single to left field. That pop-up hung in the air for four seconds, while the umpire announced ‘infield fly,’ as Contreras got under it. But he was unable to glove it safely. 

Standing almost over the foul line, the ball slipped through his hand and dropped into the foul territory. It nullified the infield fly rule. And Okamoto continued his at-bat.

The MLB rule says:

“An infield fly is any fair fly ball (not including a line drive or a bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort when first and second or first, second and third base are occupied, before two men are out. The rule is in place to protect against a team allowing a shallow fly ball to drop in with the intention of causing a force play at second and third or second, third and home. Otherwise, the team would be able to force out baserunners who had stayed put on a routine fly ball.”

That means it would have been an out if it was inside the line. And whether Contreras had caught it or dropped it wouldn’t matter. The runners would have to stay put while Okamoto would head to the dugout. 

But that didn’t happen. And boy did Okamoto make Contreras pay. 

His single on the very next pitch helped Vladdy reach home. He even stretched it to second while Valenzuela touched third. On the Blue Jays’ third base coach’s, Carlos Febles, agressive go-ahead, Guerrero Jr scored a run from second base. A slow-but-hustling Vladdy lost his helmet on a belly-flop slide that beat the throw from Jarren Duran. But that was hardly the end of suffering for the Red Sox. 

Andrés Giménez and Ernie Clement walked while Valenzuela scored. George Springer hit a sacrifice fly, and Okamoto scored. Myles Straw recorded an RBI double that helped Giménez and Clement reach home. And by the time Guerrero wrapped the inning, the Blue Jays were ahead 6-1. 

The Red Sox tried to spark a comeback in the top of the 9th, and added 3 more runs. But they ultimately lost 6-4. But Contreras isn’t bothered about this one loss.

“Dropped the ball. An error. It’s not the first one that I made. It’s not going to be my last one. Turn the page. Tomorrow is another game,” he shared after the game.

In his 269 attemps, he has successfully converted 73% of all fielding opportunity chances hit into his zone. Plus, it was in the same series that Contreras was hitless, and then, he went deep on Wednesday against Jose Soriano’s ninth pitch.

A 408 ft. homer with a bat speed of 105.9 mph, recording his 24th of the season.

“Find a way to win again. We did it in July. I think we can do it right now in August. There’s a lot of games still to be played,” said Willson Contreras.

One dropped ball and a much bigger problem

While Willson Contreras failed to glove the ball cleanly, the loss wasn’t entirely on him.

Ceddanne Rafaela had also made a costly baserunning mistake earlier, getting thrown out trying to take an extra base on a wild pitch. He blew a chance to tie the game earlier in the 4th. Tyron Guerrero is one of the most reliable relievers, who had allowed only three run over the past 11 weeks. But he surrendered three singles and walked two batters.

In the end, the deficit was too big for the lineup to overcome. 

Yesterday, Guerrero’s sinker averaged 99.1 miles per hour, down from his season average of 100.1, cracking triple digits twice in 17 tries.

“He’s another one that’s heavily used. So that happens from time to time. I’m not alarmed by it, but that will happen when he’s used a lot,” Tracy acknowledged.

Earlier, Boston had dropped 2 games against the Athletics and lost the series. Now they have dropped the first 3 games of the 4-game series against the Blue Jays. And this stretch comes right after their 9-game winning streak. 

Two months ago, losing 5 games would have been a routine sight for the Boston loyalists. But they managed to turn the wheel as they approached the All-Star break. They even matched the franchise record for the longest winning streak (15 games) from 1946. 

Everyone thought the Red Sox would be among the biggest sellers at the Trade Deadline, but their winning streak changed the whole scenario. But now, the concerns are much bigger than just losing games or dropping one ball. 

The Boston Red Sox had been just 3-for-39 with runners on scoring position during their latest slide. They had multiple games with 10+ runs scored while they were winning. But they have been outscored 24-14 during these 5 losses.

Reports show that they have made some defensive miscues and poor decisions. And they go well beyond Willson Contreras. Boston is still 3rd in the AL East with a 64-56 record. But their inability to absorb mistakes has been one of the biggest challenges in recent times.

“You’re probably going to go through a rough patch. We’re going through it now. We got to fight our way out of it,” exclaimed a hopeful Chad Tracy before his team strive to prevent themselves from a series sweep on Thursday.