Gerrit Cole intentionally walked Rafael Devers with no one on base, which led to a three-run fourth inning. Devers then added a two-run single in Boston’s four-run fifth inning, helping the Red Sox win 7-1 against the New York Yankees on Saturday.
At the time of the intentional walk, Cole (6-5), who is the current AL Cy Young Award winner, had not given up a hit and was leading 1-0. Devers was the only runner for Boston until then, having been hit by a pitch in the first inning and then erased on a double play.
“I felt like the first at-bat he hit him on purpose,” Red Sox manager Alex 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.”
After getting nine of his first 10 batters out, Cole allowed 10 of the next 12 batters to reach base. The 34-year-old right-hander gave up seven runs, which is his highest number since June 9, 2022. He also hit a career-high three batters and left the game after 4 1/3 innings.
Brayan Bello (14-7) allowed one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings for the Red Sox.
Boston (75-74) is now 3 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the last AL wild card spot and also needs to surpass Detroit and Seattle. New York (86-63) saw its lead in the AL East reduced to two games over second-place Baltimore.
Devers had previously gone 14 for 41 (.316) with eight home runs against Cole, including in the postseason, but had only managed 9 for 53 (.170) with one RBI since August 30.
“He caught me by surprise,” Devers said through a translator. “I didn’t expect that from a future Hall of Famer and I feel like he panicked a little bit.”
Cole’s intentional walk was his first since his time with Pittsburgh, when he put Milwaukee’s Travis Shaw on base with runners on second and third during a 2-2 game on September 12, 2017. Domingo Santana followed with a two-run double and scored on Eric Thames’ single, leading the Brewers to a 5-2 win.
“They grabbed the momentum. It inspired them,” Cole said. “I think, looking back, it’s the wrong move.”
