Rafael Devers was surprised when Gerrit Cole opted to intentionally walk him with one out and nobody on base in the fourth inning Saturday.
The odd situation ultimately spurred the Boston Red Sox to their first road victory in two weeks and put them above .500.
They can record a split of their four-game series with the American League East-leading New York Yankees with a win on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Sox (75-74) opened the series with a pair of one-run losses before posting a 7-1 victory on Saturday. Devers hit a two-run single in the fifth inning off Cole to highlight Saturday’s win. Devers got his latest hit against the Yankees after Cole hit him with a pitch in the first inning that Boston manager Alex Cora felt was on purpose.
“We got one of the best on the mound, and we showed up and won the game,” Cora said after the Red Sox stopped a seven-game road losing streak. “We’ve been joking around for a while here like the season has been over 15 times, and the next day they show up again and win a ballgame. Let’s find a way to win a good ballgame tomorrow.”
Devers’ hit against Cole continued a recent slight upswing for the slugger, who is homerless in his last 15 games since Aug. 25. Devers is 9-for-31 (.290) over his past nine contests following a 4-for-41 slide in his previous 11 from Aug. 21-Sept. 4.
“That’s what I’m trying to do every time I go to the plate,” Devers said through an interpreter. “Today was a big two-run hit. So for me, it was very huge for me to help the team against one of the best pitchers in the league.”
The Yankees (86-63) are attempting to win a third straight series after finishing with five hits and seeing a three-game winning streak stopped on Saturday.
Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single, but Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Austin Wells were a combined 1-for-12 with three strikeouts for New York, which was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“That team is a quick hitter. They’re built on momentum, and they’ll put up a few runs very fast. We feel like that’s been the case for them for a while,” Wells said.
After Cole’s bizarre outing, left-hander Carlos Rodon (14-9, 4.21 ERA) will attempt to set a career high for wins. Since pitching six scoreless innings against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 23, Rodon is 0-1 with a 4.08 ERA in his past three starts. He allowed four run (two earned) on five hits in six innings of a no-decision in Monday’s 10-4 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Rodon is 3-4 with a 3.88 ERA in eight career starts against the Red Sox. Since joining the Yankees prior to last season, he is 2-1 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts against Boston.
Right-hander Kutter Crawford (8-14, 4.09), who has dropped his past five starts due to poor run support, will take the mound for the Red Sox on Sunday. Crawford is 0-5 with a 3.68 ERA in his past five starts since Aug. 13, and the Red Sox have not scored more than three runs in those games.
Crawford has allowed three runs or less in 18 starts, including Tuesday when he yielded three runs in 6 1/3 innings of a 5-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Crawford is 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA in nine career outings (seven starts) against the Yankees, who tagged him for five runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings July 27 in Boston.
–Field Level Media