Amid yet another excellent series against the New York Yankees, Rafael Devers made a strange out in the sixth inning.
In his second at-bat of the frame, Devers tapped a soft grounder into the middle of the Yankee Stadium infield. He took off at a run out of the batter's box, and it looked like he could've beaten DJ LeMahieu's throw over to first base.
But as he approached the bag, Devers slowed down to a jog, and was thrown out by LeMahieu and Paul Goldschmidt. ESPN's cameras panned to Red Sox manager Alex Cora speaking to his designated hitter as Devers descended the dugout steps. After the game, reporters asked him about Devers' groundout.
“No, it wasn't a lack of hustle. We'll leave it at that," Cora said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.
After reporters asked if Devers may be injured, Cora replied: "No, I mean like we talk about it. And if he needs a blow, he needs a blow. The next one I told him to go hit it out of the ballpark and jog.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora gives cryptic update after Rafael Devers' sixth-inning groundout against the Yankees on June 8
And hit one out of the park he did — as he tends to do at Yankee Stadium. Devers clobbered his second homer of the series well into the second deck in the ninth inning to put an exclamation point on the Red Sox's 11-7 win. A near-400-foot bomb doesn't scream injury, but Devers played through almost all of the 2024 season with two shoulder injuries.
Cora's responses to the questions about Devers' out have raised alarm bells for some fans. He may have been protecting Devers if he really didn't hustle. Or, if Devers is injured, Cora may be trying to prevent full panic mode. With Alex Bregman out for the foreseeable future, Devers' bat is critical to Boston's lineup, and it has a tough stretch in its schedule coming up, with series against the Rays and Yankees at Fenway Park and a West Coast road trip immediately after.
Will Flemming and Will Middlebrooks, who called the game for WEEI, noted that Devers appeared to tell Cora something was wrong when he entered the dugout. Middlebrooks mentioned that multiple players approached Devers in the dugout to watch him walk, suggesting there may be something going on with his leg.
If there is something nagging Devers' lower half, it didn't show in his home run swing or trot around the bases. Hopefully, he's healthy and can stick with the Sox through the upcoming difficult stretch of their schedule.