NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole’s curious decision to intentionally walk Boston’s Rafael Devers with no one on base while working on a no-hit bid led to a three-run fourth inning and an early exit for the New York Yankees ace on Saturday.
Cole allowed seven runs, his most in two years, hit a career-high three batters and left after 4 1/3 innings with the Yankees trailing the Red Sox 7-1 as Devers hit a two-run single in a four-run fifth.
Devers entered 14 for 41 (.316) with eight homers against Cole, including the post-season.
Cole retired eight of his first nine batters, allowing his only batter to reach when he hit Devers with a pitch in the first, and led 1-0 when he walked Devers with one out in the fourth. Nine of Boston’s next 11 batters reached base against the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner.
Devers stole second and Masataka Yoshida hit an opposite-field RBI double into the left-field corner for Boston’s first hit, tying the score 1-1. Wilyer Abreu followed with a two-run single for a 3-1 lead, and Triston Casas bounced into an inning-ending double play.
The earliest previous bases-empty intentional walks by the Yankees both were in the sixth inning: to the Philadelphia Athletics’ Al Simmons by Roy Sherid leading off on Sept. 22, 1930, and to Washington’s Frank Howard by Fritz Peterson with two outs on April 22, 1970.
Trevor Story singled leading off the fifth on Saturday and stole second, Danny Jansen walked and Enmanuel Valdez flied out as Story took third. Jarren Duran was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, and Devers lined a knuckle-curve into right for a 5-1 lead. Tyler O’Neill was hit by a pitch and Yoshida chased Cole with a two-run single.
