The Yankees were leading 1-0 and Gerrit Cole was pitching a no-hitter until the top of the 4th inning, when with 1 out, Cole put up 4 fingers to the ump to call for the intentional walking of Rafael Devers. This surprised everyone, especially Devers who did a double take to the ump, and catcher Austin Wells we found out later.
Devers has a history of doing damage against Cole and the Yanks, and to add a layer of intrigue, Cole accidentally hit Devers with a pitch in the 1st inning.
This somehow triggered all hell to break loose. Cole allowed a walk, double, and single to the next 3 batters for 3 runs, and then in the next inning allowed 2 singles and a walk and faced Devers again with bases loaded. This time Devers ripped a 2-RBI single to right center and Boston had a 5-1 lead en route to an easy 7-1 win at Yankee Stadium on a gorgeous, blue sky, 83-degree Saturday afternoon.
The Plan
Afterwards, all the talk was about The Plan to intentionally walk Devers, and who knew about it. With intentional walks these days you don’t even have to throw a pitch — just hold up 4 fingers, and so The Plan was to send Devers to 1st instead of pitching carefully to him, to save pitches and get Cole as deep into the game as possible with the bullpen thin.
“We had discussed in the days prior to and during the game, strategically walking him because of the past success that he’s had,” said Cole afterwards. “We were in the tunnel before the inning and discussed that if Duran was retired we would stick to aggressively walking him. During the inning I looked to the dugout and stuck to the plan. If I made pitches after that and executed at a high level, then the plan works.”
“Those discussions were happening with myself and the pitching coach, and with Aaron (Boone) as well before the game,” added Cole. “In our discussions — our bullpen was thin, and we were strategically looking for a play to get us as deep into the ballgame as we could, knowing that we were going to pitch very carefully to Devers and potentially not throw him any strikes. That’s why the conversation about intentionally walking him was brought up — it might be the most efficient way to keep the line moving.”
NY falls to 86-63 and their lead over Baltimore shrinks back to 2 games with 13 games to go. Boston improves to 75-74.
1. Gleyber Puts Yanks on Top
After 3 consecutive fantastic nights at Yankee Stadium — two walkoff wins and then the Grand Slam by Aaron Judge that capped off a late-inning comeback the night before, with Luke Weaver filthy as the closer — many Yankee fans might have made last-minute plans to head up to the Bronx on a GORGEOUS, 83-degree, not-a-cloud-in-the-sky Saturday afternoon.
And it all started great, as the Yanks got to the tough Brayan Bello in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 1-0 lead. Anthony Volpe led off with a single, and Alex Verdugo followed with a single to right — although he was gunned down trying to stretch it into a double by a perfect throw from Wilyer Abreu.
Gleyber Torres followed with an RBI single to right and NY was up 1-0.
Gleyber gets us on the board ? pic.twitter.com/TRoDKFNWwW
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 14, 2024
2. Cole Cruising — But Trusts the Plan
And Gerrit Cole was CRUISING with a no hitter. He accidentally hit Rafael Devers with a pitch with 1 out in the 1st, but then retired the next 9 batters in a row, until 1 out in the 4th, when he threw up 4 fingers to walk Devers — according to Plan.
This was definitely one of the moves of all time for sure pic.twitter.com/5WjGM2n6bC
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 14, 2024
Devers did a double take, and went to 1st. Cole then walked Tyler O’Neill, and Masataka Yoshida ripped a ground rule double for a 1-1 tie. Wilyer Abreu singled in 2 runs and it was 3-1 Boston before Cole got a double play — Anthony Rizzo to Anthony Volpe back to Anthony Rizzo — to end the inning.
But in the top of the 5th, Cole continued to execute poorly, seemingly distracted by the failed plan, and melting in the bright and HOT sun. A leadoff single by Trevor Story and a walk to Danny Jansen started the inning before Cole got a fly out. But Cole then grazed Jarren Duran with a pitch and it was bases loaded, 1 out, and here came Devers again. He ripped a 1-0 knuckle curve to right center for 2 runs and it was 5-1 Boston.
Cole then hit O’Neill with a pitch, and Yoshida singled in 2 more. Boston 7 NY 1.
“Human Element” Came Into Play
“I just mentally and physically just didn’t get the job done,” said Cole. “That human element came in to play. They grabbed the momentum; it inspired them. They put good swings on good pitches. Ultimately I had opportunity to have success and I didn’t come through. Looking back, it was the wrong move.”
Austin Wasn’t Paying Attention
“I was a bit caught off guard,” said catcher Austin Wells afterwards. “I wasn’t really paying too much attention.”
Boone Knew the Plan
Once we scored the run, my preference would have been, ‘let’s attack him’, but I didn’t communicate that well enough,” said Aaron Boone. “This was something we talked about in the days leading up, just being a little more aggressive in some non-traditional scenarios where you’re going to put someone on. Once we scored the run, I should have been more demanding in ‘no — let’s go after him now’.”
Devers Says Cole Hit Him on Purpose; Cora Instigates
Afterwards, Rafael Devers alluded through a translator that Cole hit him on purpose: “He only knows what happened out there.” Devers added that Cole walked him intentionally because he was afraid to face him. “He caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect that from a future Hall of Famer and, to say it one way, I feel like he panicked a little bit.”
Bosox Manager Alex Cora — who managed the Houston Astros during their cheating 2017 season — antagonized the situation by saying Cole hit Devers on purpose because he was afraid to face him.
Cole Says No
“I didn’t throw at Devers in the 1st inning,” said Cole afterwards. “He can believe what he wants to believe, but I didn’t hurt him on purpose.”
3. Bello & Bosox Bullpen Stifle Yanks
Maybe it all wouldn’t have mattered — because Brayan Bello settled down — and stifled the Yankees into the 6th, and then the Boston bullpen came in with a 7-1 lead, and threw down 3.2 shutout innings.
“I thought Bello had a presence on both sides of the plate with his secondary and his sinker,” said Boone about Bello. “And then trying to play catchup there, we weren’t able to get back in the game.”
4. Mayza and Hill Pitch Well
Some good news for the Yanks — Tim Mayza pitched 3.2 shutout innings, and Tim Hill came in and did well again — pitching a shutout 9th. The two of them are lining up as tough lefties for Yanks out of the pen for the playoffs.
5. Weissert Gets Final Outs
Old friend Greg Weissert got to pitch the 9th for the Bosox, and he got the Yanks out 1-2-3 for the old ballgame.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401570685
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