With Sunday’s victory over the Yankees, the Red Sox swept their rivals and improved to a 66-58 record. But the victory did not come without a controversial moment.
Red Sox reliever Nick Pivetta had New York’s Harrison Bader down 0-2, and appeared to strike him out with a 96-mph four-seamer down the middle of the plate.
But home plate umpire Junior Valentine called the pitch a ball, extending the at-bat and perplexing NESN analyst Lou Merloni.
“Oh my God,” Merloni said after the pitch. “What are we doing?