The Red Sox walked into Wrigley Field riding a wave. For Alex Cora and his squad, the stakes could not feel any bigger after a hot streak had Boston thinking playoffs once again. But heading into Friday night’s showdown with Chicago, the spotlight was not just on the game.
It was on the team’s outspoken manager, and a viral off-field moment everyone in Boston was buzzing about.
What Does Alex Cora’s All-Star Break Reveal About the Red Sox?
Alex Cora, manager of the 2018 World Champion Boston Red Sox, has spent the 2024-25 campaign at the heart of his team’s climb up the standings. Now sitting in third place in the AL East at 53-46, the Red Sox are just four games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the division race.
Earlier in the season, Cora was working with a squad that had slipped to nearly six or seven games below .500. That tough start only adds more meaning to Boston’s recent run, with the team now fighting hard to stay in the playoff hunt.
The Red Sox returned for the second half of the 2025 season with a loss Friday night in game one against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Despite the setback, Boston had even more to be proud of: Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Crochet, and Alex Bregman got All-Star nods for their efforts this year.
How Did a Viral Coldplay Concert Moment Steal the Spotlight from Cora and the Red Sox?
Before Friday’s opener in Chicago, the first question lobbed at Cora was not about lineups or rotations; it was about how he spent the All-Star break. With a grin, he said he was at the Coldplay concert in Boston on Wednesday. That’s the same show lighting up social media because of a kiss-cam video that just will not quit trending online.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora asked if his All-Star break went well.
He started laughing and then said, “It was good. I was actually at the Wednesday (Coldplay) concert.”Of course, that’s the day when the thing going viral on social media happened.
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) July 18, 2025
The viral moment the media and fans were talking about? A kiss cam segment at the show exposing a possible extramarital affair between Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his company’s Chief Public Officer, Kristin Cabot.
Following the spread of that video, things got even more dramatic behind the scenes. Byron’s LinkedIn account disappeared, and his wife, Megan Kerrigan, took her husband’s last name off her social media profiles.
Turning back to what matters on the field, the Red Sox headed into Friday’s game on a 10-game winning streak before the All-Star break, stacking up four series wins in a row and two series sweeps. After the loss in Chicago, they are now 9-1 in their last 10 games, with two more to go this weekend against the Cubs, giving them another shot to bounce back.
Why Did Alex Cora Refuse to Make Excuses After the Cubs Loss?
After the game, Cora did not waste words or offer cover for his team’s mistakes. Talking to reporters, he said, “I think we had chances and then we made that baseline mistake, you know, first and second no outs. Alex hit the ball hard, and Abraham, you know, had the bad read, you know, and we got double up.”
No excuses from Alex Cora following today’s loss to the Cubs pic.twitter.com/pdxJ1juyiZ
— NESN (@NESN) July 18, 2025
Cora did not let up there, adding, “But, you know, we put pressure on them, not enough. First inning, two walks, you know, we can talk about the swing, the homer, but the two walks before put us in a bad spot… We just didn’t make pitches, and then, you know, it was a pitch up in the zone, and he covered it. You know, that was a good swing.”
Looking ahead, Boston wraps the series against the Cubs on Sunday, then heads down to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. With their momentum tested and the spotlight squarely on Cora, there is plenty left to prove in the 2025 race.
