In the top of the first inning at Fenway, Boston was already in trouble with the bases loaded and only one out. Atlanta put the ball in play on a full count, and the chaos kicked off. It looked like a soft liner to the catcher who may or may not have caught it cleanly. The home plate umpire vaguely signaled an out on the supposed catch but then signaled safe on the runner tagging up. One run scored. Meanwhile, nobody was officially out, and all the runners kept moving. Confusion broke out. The umpires huddled to sort it out.
The catcher insisted he caught the ball, and the umpire backed that up, saying he called it a catch. But replays weren’t clear. Fenway’s old setup limited camera angles, and the evidence wasn’t definitive. The play stood as a catch, even though the ball might have bounced first. Once the Red Sox realized it was ruled a catch, manager Alex Cora directed the pitcher to step off and throw to third, leading to a double play attempt. The throw to third got one out, and third baseman Rafael Devers tagged first base runner Matt Olson just in case, causing more confusion since Olson had slid back to second.
The umpire seemed to call Olson out too, though it wasn’t clear if he ever left second. Ozzie Albies, who was on third, was supposed to be the one doubled up, but the call to Olson made it messy. After more discussion, the call was clarified: Olson stayed safe, Albies was out, and the inning ended on what could have been a much worse situation for Boston. Somehow, the Red Sox escaped with minimal damage on one of the strangest plays you’ll see all year.