Red Sox's Cora Accuses Yankees' Gerrit Cole of Intentionally Hitting Rafael Devers

Boston Red Sox skipper Alex Cora believes that New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole intentionally hit third baseman Rafael Devers with a pitch during the team's 7-1 victory on Saturday.

"I felt like the first at-bat he hit him on purpose," Cora said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "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."

Devers was hit by a pitch from Cole at the top of the first inning and was intentionally walked with the bases empty in his second trip to the plate in the fourth.

The move didn't pay off, as a double from Masataka Yoshida and a single from Wilyer Abreu gave the Red Sox three runs before the end of the inning.

Cole didn't give up a hit until Yoshida's double in the fourth inning, but he slowly unraveled afterwards. The 34-year-old allowed a season-high seven earned runs, recording just two strikeouts compared to three walks. He also struggled with his command, as he hit two more batters before he exited the game in the top of the fifth.

Cole is one of the top starting pitchers in the majors, earning All-Star nods in five of the previous six seasons and winning the first Cy Young Award of his career unanimously in 2023.

However, Devers has proven to be one of the few players that is capable of getting the upper hand on the veteran. The 27-year-old entered Saturday's action hitting .333 with eight home runs and 18 RBIs in 43 plate appearances against Cole, posting an impressive 1.370 OPS.

He continued to excel at the plate after he was intentionally walked, recording a two-run single off Cole in the fifth inning.

The right-hander is well aware of Devers' success against him, admitting that the three-time All-Star gave him trouble when speaking to reporters on Sept. 10.

Cole denied that he intentionally plunked Devers on Saturday, though.

"He can believe what he wants to believe," he said, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "I didn't hit him on purpose."

The Yankees and Red Sox will face off in the fourth game of their series on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET.