Not only did the New York Yankees clinch their season series against the Boston Red Sox with an emphatic 16-1 win Sunday, they also appear to have broken their archrivals.
The Red Sox spun out following Ceddanne Rafaela’s controversial fifth-inning non-catch, which resulted in Boston broadcaster Will Flemming saying Jazz Chisholm Jr. “plays the game the wrong way” and advocating for the Red Sox to throw at catcher Austin Wells.
Flemming later apologized on X (formerly Twitter) for what he said.
The Yankees clinched the tiebreaker against the Red Sox in their likely wild-card series by winning three of four in the four-game series at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees outscored the Red Sox 25-3 in their final two games.
The Red Sox Melted Down After Ceddanne Rafaela’s Non-Catch
Rafaela may have caught Chisholm’s sinking line drive in the fifth inning, but it was ruled a non-catch by first-base umpire Edwin Moscoso, which sent Rafaela into hysterics.
“I know I made the catch,” Rafaela said. “I know when a ball drops and a ball doesn’t drop, and I know I made the catch. [The replay review is] out of our control. But I was really mad in the moment. I really wanted to help my pitcher there and I feel that changed the whole game right there.”
Lost amid the controversy was Rafaela’s circuitous route to the ball, which likely cost him the catch. Plus, YES Network replays appeared to show the ball hitting the ground.
But instead of bases empty and two outs, Boston starter Ranger Suarez was in a jam with Jose Caballero on second and Chisholm on first. After Ali Sanchez’s sac bunt, Paul Goldschmidt singled home Chisholm and Caballero, and Heliot Ramos capped the rally by socking his first home run for the Yankees, which gave New York a 5-0 lead.
Will Flemming Called Jazz Chisholm Jr. ‘Bush League’
The Yankees tagged Suarez for six runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings and had built a 7-1 lead by the bottom of the eighth inning. Yet Flemming was still harping on Rafaela’s non-catch as the Yankees were looking to tack on in their final at-bat.
After Boston reliever Jovani Moran walked Chisholm to lead off the eighth, the Yankees infielder stole second and third base, which drew the Red Sox broadcaster’s ire.
“Chisholm’s doing it again,” Flemming said as Chisholm cruised into third base. “This is what he does.”
“Wouldn’t you sort of like to see Moran drill Wells here? That’s a selfish play. That’s just padding your stats. That’s who Jazz is.”
Flemming then continued to drone on about the non-catch before Wells socked Moran’s 3-2 pitch into the second row to give the Yankees a 9-1 lead. He then laid into Chisholm more for his slow trot down the third-base line.
“Moran should fight Chisholm right here,” Flemming said. “I’m gonna say it — he plays the game the wrong way.”
Flemming complimented Chisholm for being “awesome” and “so talented” but also called him “a bush-league player.” He added one final gripe about the Rafaela non-catch after Goldschmidt homered to give the Yankees a 10-1 lead.
“It started with one play,” Flemming said, “and got much, much worse.”