Boston Red Sox
“Just obviously disagreed with the call real strongly. I think a lot of people did.”
Trevor Story was not happy with umpire CB Bucknor after his check swing strike three call late in Saturday’s game. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Trevor Story earned the Red Sox’ first home run of 2026 on Saturday evening. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t his most memorable at-bat of the night.
Late in the game with the Red Sox down 5-4 and two runners on base, Story stepped to the plate with a chance to change Boston’s fate. But his check swing at a ball in the dirt devolved into chaos and ended with Alex Cora being ejected from the game.
Home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor ruled that Story swung at the pitch and called strike three without checking with the first base umpire for a second opinion. Story berated Bucknor for the call before Cora pulled him away and chewed the umpire out himself, leading to his ejection.
Story explained the situation postgame.
“Just obviously disagreed with the call real strongly. I think a lot of people did,” Story told reporters. “I told him my piece … I don’t have anything really good to say about the situation, so I’m not going to say anything else.”
Trevor Story opening up about why he blew up on CB Buckner.
Made it clear he still feels strongly about his opinion of the check-swing. Says Buckner gave him a reason for not asking for help, but he didn’t want to make it public. pic.twitter.com/I1HJV6HUdf
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) March 29, 2026
Story did clarify that he was upset with both the fact that, in his opinion, he didn’t swing, and that Bucknor didn’t confirm with the first base umpire about the call.
The Red Sox did wind up tying the game, so Story’s strikeout didn’t affect the final outcome — a 6-5 loss. But it did add to what was an already frustrating second game for Boston.
Outside of Story’s early home run and Wilyer Abreu’s game-tying homer in the ninth, there wasn’t much offense to speak of for Boston. And it didn’t help that Sonny Gray put the Red Sox in a 3-0 hole early.
The Red Sox were chasing the game from the second inning on, and couldn’t find a way to complete the comeback, losing in the 11th inning. They’re now 1-1 heading into Sunday’s afternoon tilt. First pitch is set for 1:40 p.m.
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