Apr 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) wears the green monster mask after hitting a two run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Red Sox Broadcast Encounters Technical Difficulties, Goes Viral

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Apr 13, 2026 5:55 AM ET

The No. 1 highlight of a Major League Baseball game isn't often the broadcast, but that diverted for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

During the first two innings of the road contest against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Red Sox's television partner, NESN, encountered all sorts of technical difficulties. And it's fair to say that the public noticed, because few things are more conspicuous than losing nearly all of your camera angles.

That was why, even hours after the Red Sox won 9-3 to take home their second-straight series victory, seemingly all anyone could talk about online was the technical glitch in the NESN truck.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

What went wrong with Red Sox's broadcast?

Somehow, NESN lost all but one camera angle for about 30 minutes, leading to some very strange coverage. Willson Contreras' first-inning home run was shot from a low angle just inside the Boston dugout, for instance.

NESN is down to one camera due to technical difficulties... not sure I've ever seen this before. pic.twitter.com/fYFVdiDxB8
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) April 12, 2026

Willson Contreras puts the Red Sox on the board with one swing pic.twitter.com/x77j8rSIB8
— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken2) April 12, 2026

In the bottom of the second inning, it momentarily seemed like the Red Sox had things up and running again, but when Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker crushed a home run to left center field, all viewers got to see was starting pitcher Brayan Bello's reaction.

Brayan Bello gives up Jordan Walker's MLB leading 7th HR and we just get a zoomed in shot of his reaction. pic.twitter.com/g5bbiaF7hG
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) April 12, 2026

Bello pitched quite well otherwise, getting through 6 2/3 innings, the most of any Red Sox starter in a game so far this season, and securing his first win of the year.

Broadcasting live games is always much more difficult on the road, so it's not a surprise that something like this would happen in a location (Busch Stadium) that the Red Sox only visit every other year, rather than at home or at one of the other American League East ballparks.

Reactions were a-plenty online following the broadcast snafus, but if there was a silver lining, it was that it all took place early in the game. And frankly, since this all took place in April during a game that got the Red Sox to 6-9 on the season... we might have to admit the trouble was worthwhile just to see those reactions.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: