New York Yankees starter Gerrit Cole has historically struggled to pitch to Boston Red Sox star third baseman Rafael Devers, and in Saturday's 7-1 loss to Boston, Cole did everything in his power to not pitch to Devers.
In the first at-bat, Cole threw four pitches to Devers, all inside, with the fourth pitch of the at-bat hitting Devers. In the second at-bat for Devers in the third inning, Cole elected to intentionally walk Devers with one out and nobody on.
In a game that the Red Sox won handily, Boston manager Alex Cora ripped Cole in the aftermath of the victory for hitting Devers in the first inning.
"I wasn't surprised at all [about the intentional walk] because in the first at-bat I felt that [Cole] hit [Devers] on purpose," Cora said after the game. "He doesn't want to face him. That's the bottom line. He told us with the intentional walk that in the first at-bat he hit him. He hit him. ... We took exception to that."
Alex Cora goes off on Gerrit Cole after the game.
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) September 14, 2024
Says Cole didn't want to face Devers. The intentional walk after the hit by pitch proved that.
Wow. pic.twitter.com/YnY7xtMIDJ
With 13 games remaining in the regular season, the Red Sox are four games out of the second wild-card spot in the American League playoff race. While it will be difficult to make up that ground, the Red Sox are still more than happy to play spoiler to the Yankees in their hopes of capturing the AL East crown.
The Yankees still hold a 2.5 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East.
More of the Latest Around MLB
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alex Cora Rips Gerrit Cole for Hitting Rafael Devers With Pitch 'on Purpose'.
