Boston Red Sox: Moments where ALDS Game 1 was lost

The Brockstar thrown out at home

Boston drew first blood in the top of the first inning when Hanley Ramirez doubled to drive in Dustin Pedroia.

Brock Holt was waved around third base, attempting to score from first on the play. Catcher Roberto Perez received the throw from the outfield a few steps down the third base line and whipped around to make the tag as Holt was sliding into home. Initially the umpire ruled him safe, but Terry Francona challenged the call, which was overturned on reply.

Instead of leading 2-0 with a runner in scoring position, the Red Sox settled for one as the inning came to an end.

This isn’t to say the loss can be blamed on Holt, who would have received player of the game consideration if the Red Sox had won after he fell a triple short of the cycle. Sending Holt around third may have been aggressive, but with two outs it was the right move. It took a good throw and a great play by the catcher to nail Holt at the plate – and even then it took a manager’s challenge to rule him out.

I saw a lot of commentary on Twitter complaining that Perez blocked the plate, so Holt should have been safe regardless of if the tag was on time. This rule was implemented a few years ago to cut down on dangerous collisions, but that’s not what happened here. Catchers are allowed to move into the runner’s path in order to receive the throw and Holt was able to slide past Perez without incident. On a close play like that you can’t fault the catcher, who was trying to make a play rather than block Holt from reaching the plate.