Rafael Devers was expecting a regular at-bat against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole when he stepped to the plate in the fourth inning Saturday. With one out, nobody on and the Red Sox trailing, 1-0, Devers was simply hoping to spark Boston’s offense after Cole retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced.
Rafael Devers was more than surprised Gerrit Cole decided to intentionally walk him with no one on base in Saturday's game. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)AP
Instead, Devers saw Cole put up four fingers and motion to first base. Shockingly, the Yankees were walking Devers. It was a clear nod to the success Devers — who entered the game 13-for-43 (.333) with eight homers and 15 RBIs against Cole in regular season action — has had against the reigning American League Cy Young winner. But it still caught Boston off guard.
“He caught me by surprise,” said Devers (through interpreter Carlos Villoria Benítez. “I didn’t expect that from a future Hall of Famer. To say it some way, he panicked a little bit.
“I never expected that from him. He’s a Hall of Famer and we know the type of pitcher that he is. I never expected that from him but at the same time, it gave us the chance to score some runs.”
As Devers trotted down to first base, his teammates were confused in the dugout. Sox starter Brayan Bello said Cole “showed a lot of weakness” with the move. First baseman Triston Casas shook his head.
“I particularly have never seen it, regardless of the numbers in the matchup,” Casas said. “With the caliber of pitcher like Gerrit Cole, it was just odd.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the team had discussed walking Devers in certain spots in the lead-up to the four-game series between the teams. Sox manager Alex Cora was happy to take the free base but was incensed about a first-inning at-bat during which Cole hit Devers, claiming it was intentional.
“I wasn’t surprised at all because I felt like in the first at-bat, he hit him on purpose,” Cora said. “He doesn’t want to face him. That’s the bottom line. He told us with the intentional walk that the first at-bat, he hit him.
“We took exception to that because it was loud and clear he didn’t want to face him. After the intentional walk, we were like, ‘That’s what happened.’”
The Red Sox immediately made Cole pay for the decision. Devers, for just the third time this year, stole a base to get into scoring position. After Tyler O’Neill walked, Masataka Yoshida tied the game with a ground-rule double. Wilyer Abreu’s two-run single made it 3-1. An inning later, Cole had no choice but to face Devers with the bases loaded and the slugger made him pay with a two-run knock. Yoshida plated two more to give the Sox tons of breathing room.
“I don’t know what went through his mind but he gave us the opportunity to be on base and we took advantage of that,” Devers said.
The Red Sox appeared confident in their stance Cole was afraid to face Devers on this day. Cole, who now has a 6.06 ERA over 15 starts against the Red Sox as a member of the Yankees, lasted just 4 ⅓ innings while allowing seven runs on five hits.
“He’s one of the best pitchers on the planet. He is. He has gotten him out, struck him out ... He decided not to face him today,” Cora said. “That’s his decision. I don’t know.”
