Tension filled Yankee Stadium when the Red Sox and the Yankees met for a matinee matchup Saturday.
It all started in the first inning when Gerrit Cole hit Rafael Devers, who Alex Cora believed was plunked by the New York ace on purpose. Cora on Sunday indicated Boston tried to retaliate when Aaron Judge stepped in the box for his sixth-inning at-bat, but it "didn't happen." The Red Sox went on to secure a 7-1 win Saturday, and Cora considered the latest beef between the rivals "a closed case."
Perhaps a postgame conversation with Aaron Boone helped Cora and his team put the situation behind them. Boston's manager shed light on that conversation before Sunday afternoon's first pitch.
"We talked, and there's two ways of seeing it, right? Their dugout and our dugout," Cora told reporters, per MLB.com. "And, like I told him, 'Put yourself in our shoes and you will understand why we feel this way.' We'll leave it at that."
Boone also met with the media before Sunday's game and doubled down on his claim that Cole didn't hit Devers on purpose. The Yankees skipper also suggested Cora's accusation was an act of "gamesmanship" in an attempt to "rally the troops."
The latest Devers-Cole incident very well might be a "closed case" as Cora claimed. But if these longtime foes end up meeting in the playoffs, one has to imagine there still will be plenty of animosity.
