Justin Verlander told off Alex Cora during Tuesday night’s game between the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox.
Verlander was making his fourth start with Houston since being acquired by the AL West squad in a trade deadline deal with the New York Mets. In the second inning of the game, Verlander was having communication issues with his PitchCom technology. PitchCom allows the catchers and pitchers to communicate without having to use hand signals. Cora came out of the dugout over the issue, and Verlander told the Red Sox manager to get lost.
“F— off, Alex,” Verlander could be heard saying to Cora.
You can see video below, but beware of the foul language.
Alex Cora’s got a lot of nerve getting upset at Verlander for trying to fix his PitchCom considering Cora is the reason we need PitchCom in the first place.
pic.twitter.com/t3adyxtOdg— MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) August 23, 2023
Earlier in the exchange, Verlander appeared to be telling Cora that the pitcher did not shake off signs during the at-bat. That was in response to Cora trying to argue that Verlander shaking off indicating the PitchCom was working.
You all know what Verlander responded with. Verlander said it is all part of the battle and a heat of the moment thing. He smiled and laughed while recounting it all. There doesn't seem to be any malice.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) August 23, 2023
Verlander further addressed his incident with Cora after the game. Verlander speculated that Cora might have come out to play mind games with the ace pitcher.
More Justin Verlander on the Alex Cora … conversation pic.twitter.com/SuVD25CghH
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) August 23, 2023
The mind games didn’t work. Verlander put together his best start since being re-acquired by Houston. He threw six scoreless innings and got the win in the Astros’ 7-3 victory.
Cora was a bench coach with the Astros in 2017, the year the team initially acquired Verlander at the trade deadline. Houston later won that World Series over the Dodgers, but they were found to have cheated that postseason.
