Red Sox: Gerrit Cole still cannot solve Rafael Devers

Rafael Devers kept the Red Sox in the game with two home runs

The Boston Red Sox lost a tight game to open their series with the New York Yankees but there is one small consolation that they can take from defeat. Gerrit Cole is still having nightmares about Rafael Devers.

Devers went 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of home runs, driving in all five of Boston’s runs in a game they lost by one. Cole failed to get Devers out in all three plate appearances that he faced him, with the only out recorded by the star third baseman coming on a ground out in the eighth inning against Yankees reliever Wandy Peralta.

After the Yankees jumped out to a 5-0 lead with back-to-back home runs in the third inning, including a grand slam by Josh Donaldson, Devers struck back in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer. Cole threw a slider down in the zone but Devers reached down and swatted it 434-feet to right field with an exit velocity of 110.6 mph, the hardest hit batted ball in this game, per Baseball Savant.

Two innings later, Devers closed the gap further with a 425-foot home run to center field to drive in three runs. That made it a 6-5 game, which would end up begin the final score as both bullpens shut down the opposing lineups.

Cole’s postgame comments revealed how befuddled he is when it comes to solving this matchup against Devers, according to MassLive’s Matt Vautour.

“I’m open for suggestions,” said Cole. “He has the ability to ride the ball out at the bottom of the zone and catch up to my fastball. He’s proven that. Both pitches were pretty well executed. … It’s pretty wild he’s been able to hit every (one) there hasn’t been a miss-hit. Roll over one time. Line out one time. You’re supposed to fail seven out of 10 times in this gig. I don’t know what the deal is. We’ll just have to (pauses). We’ll just have to (shorter pause) keep at it.”

Cole “earned’ his eighth win of the season despite being tagged for five earned runs over six innings. The five earned runs tied for the second-most that Cole has allowed in a game this season. He has now allowed 16 home runs this season, tied for the fifth-most in the majors.

Fenway Park has been a house of horrors for Cole. He’s 2-3 with a 5.45 ERA in seven career starts in Boston.

Cole took the loss at Fenway in last year’s Wild Card Game, giving up three runs before getting an early hook without recording an out in the third inning. Devers walked in both of his plate appearances against the Yankees starter, scoring a run in the first inning and chasing Cole from the game with his second free pass.

No Red Sox hitter has terrorized Cole more than Devers, who is hitting .304 with a 1.087 OPS in 23 at-bats against the Yankees ace. Six of the seven hits that Devers has collected against Cole have gone for home runs. Those six homers are the most by any player against Cole in his career.

Devers has done his fair share of damage against the Yankees regardless of who is on the mound. His 15 career home runs against the Bronx Bombers are the second-most by any Red Sox hitter under the age of 25, trailing only Ted Williams (20).

Devers is on the final ballot to determine the starters for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game. The ballot closes on Friday at 2 PM and Devers is in a tight race with Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez at his position.

If Cole were to cast a vote based on which hitter gives him the most trouble, he would undoubtedly have to go with Devers.