Rafael Devers collects HR, 1,000th career hit vs. Gerrit Cole

Devers became the sixth Red Sox player to reach 1,000 hits before turning 28 years old Saturday.

Rafael Devers has hit eight home runs off of Gerrit Cole in his career. Luke Hales/Getty Images

It’s a tale as old as time: Rafael Devers owns Gerrit Cole.

The Red Sox’ longtime third baseman continued to assert his career dominance over the Yankees’ ace in the Bronx Saturday afternoon. Devers fittingly collected his 1,000th career hit via a RBI single off of Cole in the third inning to tie the game at one run apiece.

Watch the 27-year-old reach the milestone:

With that run-scoring knock, Devers became just the sixth Red Sox player to reach 1,000 career hits before turning 28 years old.

Manager Alex Cora praised the player for achieving the mark after the game.

“Special hitter,” Cora said of Devers. “Little by little, he became a complete hitter. He uses the whole field. He understands how to hit in different ballparks. We’ve been talking about him not pulling the ball in the air during the season, and when he comes here, the first thing he does is pull the ball in the air.

“A very good kid that has a lot in front of him. He’s becoming — well, he is — the face of the franchise and we’re very proud of him.”

Then, he launched a solo home run off of the right-handed starter in the fifth to give Boston a 4-3 lead. The 441-foot bomb marked Devers’s eighth career homer against Cole since he entered MLB in 2017.

Watch the moment here:

In 39 career at-bats, Devers has logged 13 total hits versus the hurler. Remember, a whopping eight of those are home runs.

Following his Saturday fireworks display, the third baseman now owns a .333 batting average and a staggering 1.370 OPS against Cole with 18 RBI.

Devers downplayed his success versus the pitcher when asked about his impressive statistics against Cole postgame.

“It’s not an easy at-bat,” he said through a translator of facing the righty. “It’s not like I feel very comfortable against him. We just know the type of pitcher that he is. He’s one of the best. But at the same time, I get to hit well against him.”

After Devers blasted his latest homer off of the 33-year-old, the power hitter admired his hit and wasted no time flipping his bat, looking back at Boston’s dugout, then proudly nodding before rounding the bases. He also took the time to wave to Boston’s bullpen with a big smile on his face as he came around third.

Cole didn’t seem too happy about Devers’s reaction. Watch the pitcher’s facial expression and defeated body language after allowing the home run:

Devers downplayed the seriousness of his bat flip while speaking with reporters after the game.

“Obviously it was a big hit for us. We put my team on top at that moment and at the same time, they did it to us before,” he said. “So nobody can get mad for those reactions. It’s just baseball.”