After an unforgettable pitching performance from Garrett Crochet (18-5, 2.59 ERA) on Tuesday night to help secure a 3-1 victory in game one of Boston’s Wild Card series against New York (94-68), there was yet another unforgettable moment on Wednesday night that Red Sox (89-73) fans likely won’t forget for years to come.

Unfortunately for them, this memory won’t be a good one.

In the midst of all the bonehead plays by Boston in their 4-3 loss in game 2 on Wednesday night, it was a baserunning decision by both Nate Eaton and the Red Sox coaching staff that has driven the most online discussion since the game went final.

In case you need a refresher:

After drawing a walk and advancing to second on a wild pitch to lead off the top of the 7th, Masataka Yoshida was pinch hitting for Rob Refsnyder with two outs to go in the inning. On the sixth pitch of Yoshida’s at bat, he reached base on an infield single that possibly could have scored two runs had Jazz Chisholm not made a miraculous diving play to his right to keep the ball from reaching the outfield grass. With the speedy Eaton and Jarren Duran both on base, it’s fair to say both men could have, in theory, reached home.

Despite Chisholm’s effort, a bird’s-eye view showed Eaton on his horse as he reached third on the play. And with Ben Rice dropping the throw from Chisholm at first base to allow Yoshida to reach on the infield single, it looked to all with eyeballs that Eaton would have and should have scored on this play, which would have given Boston a late 4-3 lead.

Instead, third base coach Kyle Hudson threw up the stop sign. And one batter later, Trevor Story flew out with the bases loaded, and the Red Sox stranded three to end the inning. Fast-forward to the end of the game, and Boston saw themselves losing 4-3 instead of being tied 4-4 heading into extras.

The ESPN telecast was vocal in their belief that Eaton should’ve been sent home on that play.

When manager Alex Cora was told about ESPN’s in-game comments during his postgame press conference, he fired back.

“That’s their opinion, you know?” said Cora. “I think it’s easy from up there to say that he could’ve scored. You know, they’re not down there with us.”

So why didn’t Eaton, one of the fastest players on the team, override the stop sign and trust his speed in a crucial spot for Boston?

“Obviously, it was a big play,” Eaton told WEEI’s Rob Bradford in the clubhouse postgame. “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.”

Hindsight is 20/20. It’s hard to fault Eaton in that moment. He doesn’t have eyeballs on the back of his head.

But he does have two sets of eyeballs working for him in Hudson and Cora.

And with Cora giving a somewhat lengthy answer pregame about managing with a “go for the jugular” style during postseason play, this is a moment where you would have wanted that mentality to be implemented on the base path.

Now, Boston is faced with a deciding game three at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night. First pitch is set for 8:08 p.m. ET, with rookie Connelly Early (1-2, 2.33 ERA) on the mound for Boston against Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler (4-3, 2.96 ERA).

Winner advances to play Toronto (94-68) in the ALDS. Loser goes home.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.