Red Sox Notes: Boston Took ‘Exception’ To Gerrit Cole’s Approach With Rafael Devers

The Boston Red Sox didn't enjoy watching New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole take the coward's way out when facing slugger Rafael Devers, not once but twice, during Saturday afternoon's division rival clash at Yankee Stadium.

Cole drilled Devers during his first at-bat, however, it was the next trip to the plate that caught Boston's attention from the dugout. Cole, in the fourth inning, wasted no time as Devers stepped into the batter's box and intentionally walked the three-time All-Star, who entered the contest as a career .333 hitter against the right-handed Yankees pitcher. Red Sox manager Alex Cora interpreted Cole's approach to Devers as intentional, calling New York out after Boston's 7-1 victory in the Bronx.

"He doesn't wanna face him. That's the bottom line," Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "He told us with the intentional walk that the first at-bat he hit him, he hit him, and we leave it at that. After that, he had the bases loaded and he had to face him. We took exception to that because it was loud and clear that he didn't wanna face him so that first at-bat -- now after the intentional walk -- we were like, 'OK, that's what happened.' We don't hit people on purpose, right? You can get hurt, especially in the position we're in. ... We want the best players to be playing every single day we're out there. I want Aaron Judge to be out there every single day, regardless of what he does against us. That's when our sport is at its best."

Granted, Cole could only escape Devers for so long. In the fifth inning, the Red Sox loaded the bases and gave Devers a delicious opportunity for revenge, and in the form of a two-RBI single, the 27-year-old capitalized. Cole lasted just 4 1/3 innings before Yankees skipper Aaron Boone pulled the plug and gave up on New York's $324 million arm, signaling the end of a potential competitive playoff-like duel between the archrival franchises. Instead, Devers did as he's always done to Cole throughout his career, leaving the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner in the dust with no other choice but to get back to the drawing board, again, and hope to figure it out next time.

Cole's intentional walk of Devers with the bases empty caught just about everyone by surprise, including Boston's star third baseman who didn't expect a pitcher of Cole's caliber to take the route to avoid a competitive battle.

"This is the kind of baseball that I really like. If they hit me or anything like that," Devers said through translator Carlos Villoria Benitez, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "This is the baseball that I enjoy, there's always a moment for everything and we'll see what's going to happen. ... I feel like he caught me by surprise (with the intentional walk). I didn't expect that from a future Hall of Famer, and I feel like he -- to say it some way -- he panicked a little bit."

Here are more notes from Saturday evening's Red Sox-Yankees game:

-- Cole confessed the intentional walk of Devers in the fourth inning was prematurely discussed. That unforeseen at-bat made Devers the sixth Red Sox player in history to be intentionally walked with the bases empty, and the first since 2016, joining David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Carl Yastrzemski and Ted Williams on the exclusive list.

"We were in the tunnel before the inning and had discussed if (Jarren) Duran was retired we were going to stick to aggressively intentionally walk him and that was the plan," Cole told reporters, per NESN. "And during the inning, I looked to the dugout and stuck with the plan. If I make pitches after that and I continue to execute at a high level, then the plan works. But evidently the plan didn't work."

-- Red Sox left-handed prospect Zach Penrod recorded the feel-good moment of the game, arriving at Yankee Stadium with less than 24 hours of notice to make his long-awaited big league debut. Penrod was called upon to pitch the eighth inning with a runner in scoring position and nobody out. The 27-year-old notched back-to-back strikeouts before escaping the potential jam unscathed.

"It means the world," Penrod told reporters, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "We're a team in the playoff race and everything. I came up here to contribute as much as possible and I want to continue doing that."

-- Masataka Yoshida went 2-for-4 at the plate with a game-high three RBIs. The 31-year-old, who has now totaled five RBIs in the last two games, is hitting .256 with 10 hits, including four for extra bases and 12 RBIs in 11 games this season against the Yankees.

-- Standings update: Boston's win placed the team four games back -- the Minnesota Twins play Saturday night -- of the third and final AL wild-card spot with 13 left to play in the season.

"That group, you never know," Cora said, per NESN. "We got one of the best on the mound (in Brayan Bello), we showed up and we won the game. We've been joking around for a while here like, 'The season's been over 15 times,' and the next day they show up again and they win a ballgame."

-- The Red Sox and Yankees will wrap up the four-game series in the Bronx on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Yankee Stadium is set for 1:35 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.