It was a strange scene on Saturday when New York Yankees starter Gerrit Cole was flirting with perfection in the fourth inning when he stepped off the mound, flashing four fingers wide to point Boston Red Sox Rafael Devers toward first base.
In an unusual show of respect, Cole intentionally walked Devers with the bases empty and one out in the fourth inning on Saturday.
Devers glanced back at home plate umpire Marvin Hudson in confusion before tossing his bat aside.
Moments later, the puzzling decision backfired as the intentional walk led to three Red Sox runs that inning and eventually a 7-1 Boston win at Yankee Stadium.
“Clearly, that was a mistake,” Cole said. “I think that I bought into the plan going into it, but afterward, it was the wrong move.”
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Reigning American League Cy Young winner Cole has openly acknowledged his struggles against Devers, who entered Saturday with 13 hits in 39 at-bats (.333) and eight home runs off him—the most either player has recorded against a single opponent.
“He caught me by surprise,” Devers said through an interpreter. “I didn’t expect that from a future Hall of Famer. I feel like he panicked a little bit.”
During a press conference earlier this week at Yankee Stadium for Hispanic Heritage Day, Cole was asked which Latin hitter has given him the most trouble. Without hesitation, he replied, “Rafael Devers.”
Devers’ dominance was a key topic in the Yankees’ pre-series meetings and manager Aaron Boone even mentioned that the team had considered intentionally walking Devers in unconventional situations. However, Boone felt that Cole was “overthinking the situation” and would have preferred his ace to challenge Devers instead.
“Once we scored the run [in the third inning], my preference would have been, ‘Let’s attack him,'” Boone said. “But obviously, I didn’t communicate that well enough. I think Gerrit was a little indecisive out there and rolled with it.”
Cole mentioned discussing the intentional walk with pitching coach Matt Blake, explaining that with a thin bullpen, walking Devers could be the best way to manage the pitch count and keep the line moving efficiently. Once Cole made the call for the walk, Boone said he chose not to intervene.
Interestingly, catcher Austin Wells admitted he was “caught off guard” by the decision, feeling that it shifted the momentum in Boston’s favor.
“I was not in that conversation,” Wells said. “I didn’t know that was in the plans.”
It was the earliest bases-empty intentional walk ever recorded by the Yankees. Previously, the earliest instances were in the sixth inning: Al Simmons of the Athletics in 1930 (by Roy Sherid) and Frank Howard of the Senators in 1970 (by Fritz Peterson).
Cole admitted that if he had performed better then his plan would have worked.
“If I make pitches after that and I continue to execute at a high level, then the plan works,” Cole said. “Evidently, the plan didn’t work. I need to make better pitches afterward in order for it to work.”