The Boston Red Sox lost the series finale to the New York Yankees on Sunday by a score of 16-1. What started out as an evenly matched game fell open in the fifth inning and spiraled from there. The Yankees ended up piling on nine runs in the eighth inning, some of them off a position player.

During that final onslaught that put the game to bed (and cemented the Yankees winning the season series), Jazz Chisholm Jr. stole a couple of bases and Austin Wells hit two home runs. That didn’t sit well with WEEI radio play-by-play man Will Flemming.

Red Sox Play-by-Play Man Lashes Out After Yankees Onslaught

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees appear destined to face off in the playoffs yet again. If the season ended today, they would duke it out in the Wild Card Round. While both are still in contention for the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays (after literally being gifted a game-tying home run off the glove of the outfielder with a .010 expected batting average) do seem like a team of destiny.

So, the only thing that matters is which other AL East team finishes closer and gets to host that Wild Card Series. As of now, the Yankees hold a four-game lead over the Sox and have clinched the season series thanks to their 16-1 win on Sunday afternoon.

Obviously, there’s some frustration after such a beatdown, but perhaps the most disgruntled is WEEI radio play-by-play broadcaster Will Flemming. During that fateful eighth inning, he suggested the Red Sox get into it with Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells.

Chisholm Jr. was the beneficiary of a controversial call in which he appeared to line out on replay, but the angles were not quite conclusive enough to overturn the call on the field. The single led to a five-run inning, and the Sox never recovered.

While there’s a legitimate gripe to be had over it (although it’s hard to overturn without clear and obvious evidence), that isn’t Chisholm’s fault. He did, however, choose to steal two bases in that eighth inning before scoring on Wells’ home run.

Flemming called Chisholm a “bush league player” and suggested fighting with him and hitting Wells with a pitch. “And [Jovani] Morán should fight Chisholm,” Flemming said. After the second steal, he added, “Wouldn’t you sort of like to see Morán drill Wells right here?”

“I’m going to say it,” he would add later in the inning, “he plays the game the wrong way.” Color analyst Will Middlebrooks, a former MLB player, was more level, but still criticized Chisholm Jr. “By the way, you’re up six (runs). It’s the eighth (inning). The team is electing not to hold you on. That’s the white flag, right?” he said. “Normally in that situation, you don’t run.”

The game was seemingly out of reach, but it was only a six-run deficit at the time. That’s not insurmountable. It became a laugher, but that’s only because the Yankees scored nine runs, kickstarted by Wells homering Chisholm in. Plus, he stole off an actual pitcher, not the position player who came in after.

And if the Red Sox announcers don’t recall, it’s a contract year for Chisholm Jr. He is playing for a big contract, and while the bat has struggled this year (97 wRC+), the baserunning has not (40 steals, 6.3 BsR). That’s been his bread and butter, and when he’s in negotiations this winter, he can point to his glut of steals.

Plus, these unwritten rules of baseball are unwritten for a reason. They don’t matter, and even if they did, it’s not as if a team should just roll over and let the game go on faster because they’re up six runs. In the last week, two teams have erased six-run deficits in the ninth inning, so Chisholm Jr. was simply ensuring that didn’t happen.

There’s no need for the Red Sox play-by-play crew to hold it against him. Just take the loss and move on.