Willson Contreras Reflects on Drop That Led to Red Sox's 5th-Straight Loss

It's a season-tying longest losing streak...

Jun 19, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) catches the ball in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Boston Red Sox are back to doing things that cost teams games, and it's been both mental and physical errors.

Ceddanne Rafaela getting thrown out trying to go from first to third base on a wild pitch? That's a mental error the Red Sox can't afford. But Willson Contreras' drop was the event that most directly correlated to this loss, and it was purely physical.

With two on and nobody out in a tie game in the bottom of the eighth, Contreras wandered back behind first base to chase a Kazuma Okamoto pop-up. The ball wound up just a few feet foul, preventing an infield fly rule, and Contreras got there and straight-up flubbed it. Moments later, Okamoto hit the go-ahead single, and the Toronto Blue Jays wound up scoring five runs in the inning.

Red Sox now have five-game skid after nine-game winning streak

Aug 12, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey (53) huddles with pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) during the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In a week that's suddenly becoming a nightmare for the Red Sox, now losers of five straight, Contreras' error was one of the most frustrating moments yet. And it was because it's the type of thing that can happen to anyone without warning; this just happened to be one of the worst possible times for it.

“I just dropped the ball,” Contreras said, per Matt Betts of MLB.com. “It’s an error, it’s not the first one I’ve made and it won’t be the last one. Turn the page. Tomorrow is another game.”

Contreras had also broken an eight-game homerless streak with a solo blast in the fifth inning that was Boston's only run at the time.

The entire pitching staff seems gassed too, making it all the more important that they don't need to get extra outs via errors. After starter Ranger Suárez only made it through five innings, setup man Garrett Whitlock was unavailable for the eighth with elbow troubles, necessitating the Red Sox handing the ball to Tyron Guerrero.

The Red Sox certainly can't afford to dwell on any moment from Wednesday night's loss, as they've got a 3:07 ET first pitch on Thursday. They'll try to avoid what would become their longest losing streak of the season at six, as well as a four-game sweep that could completely revive Toronto's season.