Gerrit Cole's bases-empty intentional walk to Rafael Devers backfires as Red Sox rout Yankees

NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole gave Rafael Devers the Aaron Judge treatment.

But it backfired.

Cole’s unorthodox intentional walk of his longtime on-field nemesis proved to be the turning point in the Yankees’ 7-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.

With the bases empty and one out in the fourth inning, Cole held up four fingers and issued the intentional free pass to Devers, who boasted a .341 average and eight home runs in 41 lifetime at-bats against him.

The Yankees were leading 1-0 at that point, and Cole had not allowed a hit.

Devers then stole second base and, after a more traditional walk to Tyler O’Neill, scored on Masataka Yoshida’s game-tying RBI double.

Wilyer Abreu followed with a two-out, two-run single that put the Red Sox up 3-1 in the fourth, and Devers added a two-run single against Cole in the fifth to make it 5-1.

Devers is now 15 for 42 with 21 RBIs in his career against Cole, whom Boston tagged for a season-high seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings. The right-hander hit three batters, including the lefty-swinging Devers in the first inning, and gave up five hits and three walks against two strikeouts.

Five days earlier, Cole didn’t hesitate when he was asked during the Yankees’ Hispanic Heritage Media Day which Latin player gave him the most trouble.

“Rafael Devers,” Cole, 34, said.

Devers, 27, signed an 11-year, $331 million extension last year, further establishing the third baseman as the face of a Red Sox team that opted against giving long-term mega-deals to Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts.

Early-game intentional walks have become something of a common sight at Yankee Stadium, with Judge repeatedly on the receiving end of the strategy. On Aug. 3, the Blue Jays intentionally walked a red-hot Judge with two outs and nobody on base in the second inning — the first of four IBBs for the slugger in a two-game span.

Judge, who leads MLB hitters with 52 home runs, also leads the majors with 19 intentional walks.

Saturday marked the first rough outing by Cole in nearly two months. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner owned a 1.58 ERA over his previous seven starts, pitching at least five innings and allowing three runs or fewer in each of them.

Cole missed nearly the first three months of the season after being diagnosed during spring training with inflammation and edema in his right elbow. With Saturday’s loss, he fell to 6-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 15 starts.

Boston starter Brayan Bello, meanwhile, limited the Yankees to one run over 5 1/3 innings. Gleyber Torres’ third-inning RBI single accounted for the only damage against the 25-year-old right-hander, who signed a six-year, $55 million extension before the season.

The Yankees went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base against five Red Sox pitchers.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Yankees (86-63), who began the day with a three-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East.

The Yankees won Thursday night’s series opener against Boston, 2-1, on Juan Soto’s ninth-inning RBI double, giving the superstar his first walk-off hit in pinstripes.

Friday night’s 5-4 victory was even more dramatic, as Judge snapped a 16-game home run drought with a seventh-inning grand slam that erased a three-run deficit.

The Yankees now turn their attention to Sunday afternoon, when they will try to win the four-game series against the rival Red Sox (75-74). Carlos Rodón (14-9, 4.21 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Yankees, while Kutter Crawford (8-14, 4.09 ERA) is set to pitch for Boston.