Gerrit Cole Intentionally Walked A Hitter With No One On Base

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are in the midst of another hard fought series in the Bronx this weekend. On Friday, the Yankees trailed 4-1 into the 7th inning before Aaron Judge broke the longest home run drought of his career by launching a go-ahead Grand Slam. 

The Yankees would hold on to the 5-4 lead, picking up an important game in the standings on the second place Baltimore Orioles.

On Saturday, New York sent its ace Gerrit Cole to the mound, trying to secure a series win. Through three innings, Cole was dominant, facing the minimum and inducing weak contact and strikeouts. In the bottom of the fourth inning, though, the Red Sox rallied for three runs, starting with an intentional walk with the bases empty. That's not a misprint, Gerrit Cole intentionally walked Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers with one out and no one on base and that set the table for an eventual 7-1 Boston win. 

In case there was any doubt who wanted the walk, Cole himself held up the four fingers. 

This type of treatment has happened before, with players like Barry Bonds, Mike Trout or Judge himself getting intentionally walked in unusual situations. But Rafael Devers? 

NEW YORK - Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees reacts after the last out in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 17, 2022 in the Bronx. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Gerrit Cole Makes Bewildering Intentional Walk Choice 

Cole and Devers have a history; just a few days ago, he was asked which Latin hitter has given him the most trouble in his career. His answer: Rafael Devers.

Devers, entering Saturday's game, had gone 13-39 in his career against Cole, which, while very good, isn't exactly deserving of the intentional walk treatment. Except eight of those 13 hits went for home runs, the most of any hitter against Cole.

Still, with the bases empty, the worst outcome for Cole would have been a tie game. Instead, Devers stole second, Cole walked Tyler O'Neill, Masataka Yoshida doubled home a run, followed by a Wilmer Aubrey two-run single. A 1-0 lead quickly became a 3-1 deficit, starting with the unnecessary intentional walk.

After the game, Cole admitted that he and the Yankees might have overthought it.

"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."

The Red Sox added on later, cementing a 7-1 lead they'd hold onto. And their rally started with Gerrit Cole getting a bit too scared of Rafael Devers.