Alex Cora Reveals What He Said to Cause NSFW Response from Justin Verlander

The Red Sox endured another rough loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday, falling 7-3 at Minute Maid Park.

Boston’s frustrations seemed to boil over, as Alex Verdugo was ejected in the fourth inning and Alex Cora was tossed in the seventh.

Cora, who was thrown out for arguing balls and strikes, also had a heated exchange with Astros pitcher Justin Verlander earlier in the game, which ended with Verlander telling Cora to “(expletive) off.”

After the game, Cora revealed to reporters what he said to rile up Verlander.

Alex Cora Justin Verlander

Cora complained to umpires in the top of the second inning when Verlander avoided a pitch clock violation by claiming that he was having issues with his PitchCom device — something that pitchers across the league have done several times this year. Verlander appeared to be shaking off pitches prior to the violation, however, indicating that his device was working fine.

When Cora confronted Verlander about it, he told the three-time Cy Young winner to “just go pitch.” Verlander did not appreciate Cora’s accusations and reacted accordingly.

This tense moment was even more emotionally charged because of the shared history between Boston’s skipper and Houston’s ace. The two won a World Series together with the Astros in 2017, when Cora was the club’s bench coach and Verlander was a trade deadline acquisition that helped push Houston over the top.

Regardless, Cora is clearly frustrated in general right now. He’s been ejected twice in the last three games as the Red Sox have fallen 5 games back in the Wild Card standings. He’s also annoyed with Boston’s horrendous defense, which has already committed 5 errors in the first two games of the Houston series.

Time will tell if Cora’s outburst will light a spark under his team. The Red Sox will try to get back on track behind Chris Sale on Wednesday.

If you want to back the Sox in that one, then you’ll want to earn yourself a guaranteed $250 bonus while you do it. Caesars Sportsbook’s new limited-time promo launched on Monday, and new users who sign up through the exclusive Chowder and Champions link below can unlock the entire guaranteed bonus, which pays out whether your bet wins or loses. This offer expires soon though, so sign up now to cash in!