On a day when the scorebook showed no error, Trevor Story knew better. The Boston Red Sox shortstop didn't hide from his costly mistake in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, a game that slipped away in a single, decisive inning.

With the score tight at 1-0 in the third, Rays speedster Chandler Simpson sent a ground ball skidding toward Story. The ball slid under his glove, allowing Nick Fortes to score from second and opening the floodgates for another run in a grueling 28-pitch inning for pitcher Payton Tolle.

Story was candid about what went wrong. "I saw it to my right and I saw that (Fortes) was going to third," he explained. "I thought for a split second I should get him out, and it kinda took my focus off the ball a little bit. It's on me."

Even though the official scorer later changed the play from an error to a single—keeping Story's errorless streak alive at 21 games—the damage was done. The Red Sox fell behind 3-0 and never recovered, dropping to 17-23 after losing two of three in the AL East showdown.

It's a particularly tough pill to swallow for a team that prides itself on defense. Boston leads the majors with 36 Defensive Runs Saved, well ahead of the runner-up Los Angeles Dodgers at 24. One misstep, Story acknowledged, can undo so much good work. "It shows that it's tough to win in this league making mistakes like that," he said. "Can't happen."

But the miscue in the field isn't Story's only concern. The 33-year-old is also struggling at the plate, batting just .200/.236/.284 with two home runs and a 33.3% strikeout rate—a tough follow-up to his bounce-back 2024 campaign. Yet Story remains undeterred, drawing on experience from last season when he recovered from a .432 OPS in May.

"It's tough to go through in the moment," he said. "I have confidence I can do it because I've done it before. It's very similar to last year. Takes one game, takes one pitch and I'm always optimistic about it. I'm not gonna sit here and pout about it or feel sorry for myself."

For Red Sox fans, Story's accountability is a silver lining. In baseball, as in life, the best players own their mistakes—and then get back to work. The question now is whether that next pitch, that next game, will finally turn the tide.