New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole surrendered a season-high seven earned runs against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday (GameTracker), imperiling New York's three-game winning streak in the process. Cole also recorded one of the strangest intentional walks in recent memory, electing to put Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers on with one out in the fourth inning despite there being nobody on base and the Yankees leading by a 1-0 margin.
Most recent Red Sox to be walked intentionally with the bases empty:
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) September 14, 2024
Rafael Devers – 9/14/2024 at NYY
David Ortiz – 6/19/2016 vs. SEA
Manny Ramirez – 6/5/2001 vs. DET
Manny Ramirez – 5/13/2001 vs. OAK
Carl Yastrzemski – 5/2/1970 vs. CAL
Ted Williams – 9/6/1953 at PHI
Devers entered Saturday having hit .333/.395/.974 against Cole for his career. Clearly Cole was out of ideas on how to pitch Devers and decided to simply gift him the base. That proved to be a mistake, as Devers came around to score as part of an active fourth inning for the Red Sox.
Cole, 34, had not permitted the Red Sox a hit until after that fourth-inning walk. He would make up for that thereafter, finishing his afternoon having yielded those seven runs on five hits and three walks. Cole struck out just two of the 22 batters he faced. Saturday represented the third time in 15 starts this season he's exited a game with two or fewer punchouts.
Saturday's start doubled as the eighth occurrence in Cole's career he's allowed seven or more earned runs. It's the first time since June 9, 2022, when he suffered through an abbreviated outing against the Minnesota Twins that entailed him giving up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings of work. Cole's worst ever start, as judged solely by earned runs, came in April. Then, as a member of the Houston Astros, he allowed nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits and three walks across 4 1/3 innings versus the Texas Rangers.
Cole entered Saturday having amassed a 3.36 ERA (122 ERA+) and a 3.54 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 75 innings. His contributions have been worth an estimated 1.7 Wins Above Replacement, according to the calculations at Baseball Reference.
Cole, the reigning American League Cy Young Award recipient, missed the onset of the season after experiencing nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow. More recently, Cole left a start on Sept. after his calf began to cramp.
The Yankees came into play on Saturday with an 86-62 record on the year, giving them a three-game advantage over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.
