Red Sox manager Alex Cora accuses Yankees ace Gerrit Cole of throwing at Rafael Devers

NEW YORK – The rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees heated up a bit Saturday in the Bronx when Boston manager Alex Cora accused Gerrit Cole of intentionally throwing a ball at Rafael Devers.

Red Socks he won the game7-1 after two consecutive losses in the Bronx. But most of the attention after the game focused on how Cole fared against Devers, who went 14-for-41 (.316) with eight home runs against Cole, including the postseason.

Alex Cora criticizes Gerrit Cole

In the first inning, Cole hit a Red Sox slugger. Then in the fourth, Cole intentionally walked Devers with the bases empty, starting a three-run rally for Boston. The move raised some eyebrows in the Boston dugout.

Cole was eventually forced to throw to Devers an inning later when the bases were loaded. The third baseman singled to score two.

After the game, Cora said that in his eyes, the intentional walk proved that Cole had no intention of facing Devers. That’s why he believes the hit with the ball was intentional.

“I felt like he hit him on purpose on the first bounce. He didn’t want to face him. He told us he hit him on purpose on the first bounce. He hit him. Let’s leave it at that,” Cora told reporters. “Then the bases were loaded and he had to face him. We objected because he said loud and clear he didn’t want to face him. After he hit him on purpose, we were like, ‘OK, that’s what happened.’

Gerrit Cole hits Rafael Devers

Red Sox starter Brayan Bello led off the sixth inning with a pitch that flew behind Yankees star Aaron Judge, but no words were exchanged between the two teams.

“We don’t want to intentionally hit people, right? You can get hurt. Especially in the situation they’re in. They’ve had 20 semifinals. We hit someone, someone gets hurt and we’re in a bad situation,” Cora said. “We want the best players out there every day. I want Aaron Judge out there every day, no matter what he does to us. That’s when our sport is at its best. Raffy got hit. They can say whatever they want. The intentional walk was loud and clear. ‘I don’t want to face him.’ So the second pitch of the game against Raffy, you see. That was intentional. I’m not going back. That was intentional.”

Rafael Devers responds

Through an interpreter after the game, Bello said Cole’s intentional walk “showed a lot of weaknesses.”

Devers was also asked about Cole’s decision to intentionally take him for a walk.

“I feel like he surprised me,” Devers said through an interpreter. “I didn’t expect that from a future Hall of Famer. I feel like he panicked, to put it mildly.”

The Red Sox and Yankees will conclude their series on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.