Whenever MLB cracked down on sticky stuff, the critics of New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole came out to play as he seemingly struggled immediately after. Since then, however, Cole has righted the ship and took his talents into Fenway Park for the start of a four-game series with the rival Boston Red Sox on Thursday night.
And with that matchup against Boston came a head-to-head showdown with the man who might be his greatest nemesis: Rafael Devers.
The Yankees took control of the game early as Devers was put out easily in his first at-bat and then New York used a Josh Donaldson grand slam followed immediately by an Aaron Hicks solo shot to take a 5-0 lead on the road. But Devers wouldn’t stand for that. With a man on in the bottom of the third inning, the third baseman put a massive charge in a pitch from Cole and sent it over the centerfield fence.
And in that moment, Devers became the official owner of Gerrit Cole as it was his fifth homer off of the Yankees ace, the most of any active player in baseball.
Rafael Devers with his 5th career homer off Cole. No other player has more than 4.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) July 8, 2022
Rafael Devers owns Gerrit Cole and keeps Red Sox alive
But Devers wasn’t done with just that and with the Red Sox down 5-2 still.
When he came up to the dish for his next trip in the bottom of the fifth inning, this time with two runners on, Cole again gave the Boston superstar a pitch he could do something with — and he delivered with another monstrous shot into centerfield that cleared the fence.
So that’s now six home runs for Rafael Devers off of Cole while no other player has more than four. Not too shabby.
Unfortunately, that still left Boston trailing 6-5 at home but obviously put them in a much better position to make a move. And it was Devers single-handedly hurting the Yankees, living rent free in Cole’s head, and keeping the Red Sox alive.
Now only if they would pay the man…
