Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox third base Nate Eaton (40) hits a double during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Red Sox's Nate Eaton Reveals Who To Blame For Disastrous Baserunning Moment

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 7:24 AM ET

The top of the seventh inning in Wednesday night's Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees playoff game was the moment the tides turned.

All series long, it had been the Yankees failing to cash in on their opportunities. But the Red Sox blew a fantastic chance to take the lead in their quest to eliminate their arch-rivals, and it wound up biting them.

There's a ton to dissect from that inning, but the moment Nate Eaton failed to score from second on Masataka Yoshida's infield single (kept on the infield by an incredible diving stab by second baseman Jazz Chisholm) loomed large.

Nate Eaton on not scoring from second

Yoshida's ground ball looked like it was headed up the middle, but Chisholm came out of nowhere to snare it on a full-extension dive. But he didn't have time to get Yoshida rumbling down the line, and when his throw came in on a bounce, first baseman Ben Rice couldn't pick it cleanly.

Eaton, though, was already shuffling his way back to third base when Rice missed the ball, and though he took a couple of jab steps, never committed to sprinting home when it looked as though he still had time to get in there.

"Obviously, it was a big play," Eaton said, per Rob Bradford of Audacy. "We didn’t score. I obviously couldn’t see it. As I’m getting to third, I’m told to stop and then I couldn’t see how far the ball was away when it got by Rice."

In other words, third base coach Kyle Hudson bears the brunt of the blame for Eaton not scoring. First base coach José Flores was signaling to go home, but Hudson either didn't see the ball kick away soon enough, or didn't trust that it was far enough away.

There's a case to be made that Eaton should have just kept running and made Rice make a perfect throw home even if he caught it clean, but at a minimum, he should have kept his momentum rounding third in case of a bobble.

Blame is somewhat immaterial, because the Red Sox blew their chance. They're lucky they have one more opportunity on Thursday to redeem themselves.

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

More must-reads: