Boone, Cole explain decision to IBB Devers with bases empty

“Clearly that was a mistake. I think that I was bought into the plan going into it, but afterward it was the wrong move.”

The Red Sox almost immediately scored three runs following the Yankees’ decision to intentionally walk Rafael Devers on Saturday. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole recently called Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers the most difficult Latin player he’s faced in his career.

Cole avoided pitching to Devers in the fourth inning by intentionally walking him on Saturday, but his plan backfired.

With New York up 1-0, one out, and the bases empty, Cole wasted no time giving Devers a free base. Given the 27-year-old hitter’s dominance against the right-hander (eight home runs and 20 RBI in 46 plate appearances), it’s easy to understand that New York wants to avoid the matchup.

However, since there were no Red Sox runners on the base path and the Yankees were leading, the decision was puzzling.

Cole explained postgame that the team made the decision to walk Devers in certain scenarios during this four-game series.

“We had discussed the days prior to and during the game, strategically, walking him because of the past success that he’s had,” he told reporters. “If I make pitches after that and I continue to execute at a high level, then the plan works. But evidently, the plan didn’t work. I need to make better pitches afterward in order for it to work.”

Following the IBB, Cole allowed back-to-back RBI hits to Masataka Yoshida and Wilyer Abreu. Before he knew it, Boston claimed a 3-1 lead almost immediately after putting Devers on first base.

When asked if he could have said “no” to his coaches and opted to pitch to Devers, Cole didn’t give a solid answer.

“I think in our discussions, our bullpen specifically was thin. We were strategically looking for a way to get as deep into the ballgame as we could,” he said. “Knowing that we were going to pitch very carefully to Devers and potentially not really throwing many strikes. That’s why the conversation about intentionally walking was brought up, was that it might be the most efficient way to keep the line moving.

“Clearly that was a mistake. I think that I was bought into the plan going into it, but afterward it was the wrong move.”

New York manager Aaron Boone echoed similar sentiments as Cole after his team’s 7-1 loss. Boone explained that this was in their plans all week.

“Something going in and just working through preparation this week with Gerrit that we were going to be a little more aggressive in some situations,” he said. “I talked about it with no one on there and then simple as that. And then we didn’t get the rest of the outs there.”

However, Boone went on to say that because the Yankees were leading, he would have chosen to have Cole pitch to Devers.

“Once we scored the run, my preference would have been let’s attack him, but obviously I didn’t communicate that well enough,” he said. “And I think Gerrit was a little indecisive out there and rolled with it but then in the end, we just didn’t get enough outs from there.”