Aaron Judge holds high praise for Rafael Devers
Arguably the most storied rivalry in MLB History — the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox — kicked off for the second time this season Thursday night. Aside from New York becoming the first team this year to capture its 60th victory in its 6-5 win, perhaps the biggest takeaway from Thursday’s game was Boston third baseman Rafael Devers making his presence known against Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, one of MLB’s top starters, again!
Devers crushed two homers — a two-run homer to right on a well-placed slider and a three-run homer to center off a changeup at the bottom of the zone — that accounted for all five of Boston’s runs. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk, being the only Sox hitter with multiple hits.
Yankees superstar outfielder Aaron Judge, who was out of the lineup in Thursday’s game with lower body soreness, had high praise for Devers after the game. Here is what Judge told NBC Sports Boston’s John Tomase after Thursday night’s victory:
“Oh, it’s been impressive,” he told NBC Sports Boston. “It just speaks volumes to what type of player he is and what he can do, man. It’s been fun watching him from afar. I usually like watching him more on TV than when he’s facing us, but he’s a special talent. It’s fun to see him develop over the years.
“It’s not like he’s just lining up heaters or lining up off-speed pitches. I’ve seen him take heaters out, I’ve seen him take tonight a slider, a changeup to center, right field. It’s just consistent at-bats. I don’t see him chasing a lot. When you don’t chase and you get into good counts, good things are going to happen.”
Find the full quote here from NBC Sports
The sentiment towards Devers is well-deserved. He can practically hit every pitch and is having a career year. Devers is well in the thick of the conversation for the best third baseman in baseball with Nolan Arenado, Jose Ramirez and Manny Machado. He’s slashing .330/.387/.598 (986 OPS, 168 OPS+) with a league-most 27 doubles, 19 home runs, 51 RBI’s and a 4.4 fWAR, tied for the best in MLB.
The 25-year-old has also simply owned Cole over his career — especially in recent memory — bashing six home runs with 15 RBIs in 25 plate appearances, equating a ridiculous 1.447 lifetime OPS off the famed right-hander.
Cole has a hilarious moment with the reporters after the game when asked about how to get Devers out.
“I’m open for suggestions,” Cole said after Thursday’s win. “You guys are all watching the game, too. I mean, obviously he has the ability to ride the ball out at the bottom of the zone. He has the ability to catch up to my fastball, he’s proven that, so both pitches were pretty well executed.
“…Changeup down under the zone, he just winds up, uncorks, lets that bottom hand ride the pitch out. We said a homer doesn’t beat us right here, so let’s go make our pitches. We made our pitches, gave up a homer, but it didn’t beat us.”
Full quote via NBC Sports
Cole was better than his final line indicated: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB and 7 SO. His stuff was really good all night, except to Devers, topping out at 101 MPH and inducing 17 swing-and-misses. He just hasn’t figured out Devers yet. That’s it. Not ideal.
“In a situation like that, you’ve just got to tip your cap,” Judge said. “Cole made some great pitches there. He was dealing. He kept that whole lineup off balance all night, he makes two great pitches, and Devers is a great hitter. He did his thing.
“Those are tough ones to swallow, but you’ve just got to tip your cap. I know how tough that is. To do that, it’s impressive.”
Full quote via NBC Sports
On the year, Cole, 31, sports a 3.26 ERA (116 ERA+), 3.61 FIP with 124 strikeouts (11.2 K/9) to just 29 walks (2.6 BB/9) in 99.1 innings. He’s on the outside-looking-in on the AL CY Young race behind Kevin Gausman, Shane McClanahan, Justin Verlander and Martin Perez, among others.
Devers, on the other hand, has creeped into the AL MVP discussion alongside Judge, Ramirez, Yordan Alvarez and two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani. Judge currently tops MLB in home runs (30) with an AL-most 64 RBIs, 13 doubles and a .287/.366/.627 (.993 OPS, 180 OPS+) slash line. The conversation and debate will be fluid for the entire rest of the way, as it’s pretty neck-and-neck between each of the candidates.
Though what we do know is: Devers is sensational against Cole, and both he and Judge deserve to be paid by their respective franchises in the near future. Oh, and that the Yankees are the best team in baseball.
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