Red Sox aim for series split with Yankees; Crawford makes 31st start of season; Devers seeks first homer in 15 games
Yankees starter Gerrit Cole was afraid to pitch to Rafael Devers on Saturday, plunking the All-Star third baseman and intentionally walking him on four pitches in the top of the fourth inning.
Devers, who entered Saturday afternoon’s game batting .333 (13-for-39) with eight homers against Cole. The bizarre walk by Cole helped lead the Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Yankees in the Bronx.
"I never expected that from him," Devers told reporters through translator Carlos Villoria Benitez, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. "He's a Hall of Famer, and we know the type of pitcher that he is. I never expected that from him, but at the same time, it gave us the chance to score some runs."
Devers ended up getting to Cole later in the game, roping a two-run single, extending the Sox lead in the fifth. The slugger hasn’t homered in 15 games dating back to Aug. 25 but is slowly showing signs of coming out of his slump at the plate; he is 9-for-31 (.290) over his last nine games.
Boston will aim for a series split after dropping the first two games of the series and will turn to Kutter Crawford on the mound.
This will be Crawford’s eighth career start against the Bronx Bombers. He is 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA with 44 strikeouts over 41 1/3 innings. Crawford will be making his 31st start of the year, which ties a career high in games pitched in a season. The right-hander owns a 3.38 ERA over his last four starts, which dates back to Aug. 24.
The Yankees will counter with left-hander Carlos Rodón, who will make his ninth career start versus the Red Sox. He is 3-4 with a 3.88 ERA with 58 strikeouts over 46 1/3 frames. Rodón has made two starts against the Sox this season, both coming at Fenway Park; he is 1-1 with a 5.56 ERA over those starts.
Key stats and Red Sox lineup
Red Sox vs. Rodón: Triston Casas 0-3, Rafael Devers 4-13, Jarren Duran 1-6, Romy González 0-3, Danny Jansen 2-4, Tyler O’Neill 2-6, Ceddanne Rafaela 2-7, Rob Refsnyder 4-12, Trevor Story 0-2, Connor Wong 2-7, Masataka Yoshida 0-3
Yankees vs. Crawford: Oswaldo Cabrera 2-6, Jazz Chisholm Jr. 0-3, Trent Grisham 1-4, Aaron Judge 6-19, Anthony Rizzo 0-7, Juan Soto 2-9, Giancarlo Stanton 2-8, Gleyber Torres 2-15, Jose Trevino 1-5, Alex Verdugo 2-8, Anthony Volpe 1-10, Austin Wells 1-7
Gleyber Torres reached base twice on Saturday and drove in the Yankees’ only run with an RBI single in the third inning off Brayan Bello. He has hit safely in 21 of his last 23 games (since Aug. 21) and is batting .319/.398/.447 (30-for-94) with 17 runs, three doubles, three homers, 13 RBI, and 13 walks over that span.
Red Sox (75-74) lineup at Yankees (86-63):
Jarren Duran CF
Romy Gonzalez 2B
Rafael Devers 3B
Tyler O’Neill RF
Connor Wong 1B
Masataka Yoshida DH
Trevor Story SS
Danny Jansen C
Ceddanne Rafaela CF
SP: RHP Kutter Crawford (8-14, 4.09 ERA)
The first pitch is at 1:35 p.m. and can be seen on NESN, Fubo, and Sling TV, and it can be heard on WEEI 93.7 FM.
