Red Sox's Trevor Story Sounds Off on Check Swing Controversy vs. Reds

It was a roller coaster of a day for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds.

Boston fell behind early against Cincinnati, but chipped away throughout the contest and was able to force extra innings thanks to a ninth-inning homer from Wilyer Abreu. The young slugger tied the game at five, but Boston would go on to lose, 6-5, in 11 innings.

If that wasn't enough drama for one baseball game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was also ejected in the eighth inning. Trevor Story was at the plate and was called out on a check swing — that didn't look like a swing — by umpire CB Bucknor, who didn't check with the first base umpire to see if Story went around.

Trevor Story just exploded on CB Bucknor. Never seen him this mad before. Well-deserved.

Alex Cora has been ejected... pic.twitter.com/K4sMZPNnN6
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) March 28, 2026

Roller Coaster of a day for Boston

Trevor Story, a shortstop for the Boston Red Sox makes a play during a spring training game between the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves at JetBlue Park or Fenway South in Fort Myers on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. | Andrew West/The News-Press & Naples Daily News/USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn

Bucknor had a roller coaster of a day himself behind the plate, including two straight incorrect calls that Eugenio Suárez correctly challenged in the sixth inning. The Red Sox clearly felt it as well, as shown through the incorrect call for Story. Afterward, he blew up at the umpire, which led Cora to come out and get himself ejected. After the game, Story opened up about the play.

"I obviously disagree with the call, real strongly," Story said. "I think a lot of people did too. I told him my piece. What we said was what we said out there, and I don't have anything really good to say about the situation, so I'm not going to say anything else."

The ABS system and umpires in general are going to be a massive story across the 2026 season and this was the case on Saturday. Boston didn't use its challenges well and lost them earlier. Bucknor wasn't having a good day behind the plate, as shown by the Story miss and two straight with Suárez. But there was nothing the Red Sox could do late without a challenge.

If Bucknor had checked with first base, Story likely would not have been called out on that check swing. But does that change the game? Maybe. When Story got out, there were runners on first and second base with Boston down one run. What if the next pitch he drilled? What if he struck out the next pitch? There's no way to know what would've happened, but something else could have. Clearly, there was something off on Saturday, but the best part about baseball is that there are 162 games so that one is now a thing of the past and Boston will take the field again on Sunday.