Inside The Pinstripes

Heated Alex Cora Claims Yankees' Gerrit Cole HBP on Rafael Devers Was 'Intentional'

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora was not happy about Yankees ace Gerrit Cole hitting Rafael Devers with a pitch in the first inning.

Grant Young

Aug 16, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) stands in the dugout during the first inning of the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Aug 16, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) stands in the dugout during the first inning of the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox 7-1 on Saturday.

The game's most notable moment came when Yankees' ace Gerrit Cole elected to intentionally walk Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers with the bases empty and one out in the fourth inning.

To that point in the game, Cole had thrown 3.1 innings, giving up no hits or runs. But he had hit Rafael Devers with a pitch in the first inning; which Red Sox manager Alex Cora blasted Cole for after the game ended.

"I wasn't surprised at all because I felt like the first at-bat, [Cole] hit [Devers] on purpose," Cora told reporters when asked whether he was surprised about the intentional walk, via Tyler Milliken. "He doesn't want to face him. That's the bottom line... [Cole] told us with the intentional walk that the first at-bat, he hit him [on purpose]."

After the intentional walk to Devers, Cole conceded 7 earned runs and 5 hits in just 1 more inning pitched.

Cora continued postgame by saying, "We took exception to [the hit by pitch] because it was loud and clear that he didn't want to face him... after the intentional walk, we were like 'Okay, that's what happened.'"

When asked whether Cole allegedly hitting Devers on purpose was bad form, he said, "I mean, we don't want to hit people on purpose, right? You can get hurt. Especially in the position they're in, right?... You hit somebody, somebody gets hurt and puts them in a bad spot.

"We want the best players to be playing every single day out there," Cora continued. "I want Aaron Judge to be out there every single day, regardless of what he does against us. That's where our sport is at its best.

"They can say whatever they want... the second pitch of the game against [Devers], you see it, it was intentional. I'm not gonna back off. It was intentional," Cora added.

Cora's claim is sure to cause quite a stir in the Yankees' universe.

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Grant Young

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Womenā€™s Basketball for Sports Illustratedā€™s ā€˜On SIā€™ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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