Alex Bregman has a bone to pick with the city of Boston and the Red Sox, but Alex Cora isn’t going to play his former infielder’s game.
Cora, who was Bregman’s bench coach with the Houston Astros, was asked Wednesday about Bregman’s recent comment on the “Going Deep with Chad and JT” podcast where Bregman said there was no other city he’d like to beat than Boston.
The Red Sox manager was asked about the attempt to stir up the budding rivalry in February, but he took the diplomatic route.
“He said that?” Cora asked Wednesday, per MassLive. “That’s my guy right there. He’s probably trying to get me to react. He’s doing OK. He’s rehabbing. He’s back in West Palm. He did a lot of things in the offseason: the Instagram stories, and yeah. That’s my guy so I’m not going to react to that one.”
Bregman was a lightning rod during the American League Championship Series between the Red Sox and Astros last season. The third baseman posted an Instagram video mocking Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi prior to his Game 3 start, and then the right-hander went out and tossed six strong innings in an eventual 8-2 Red Sox win.
Then, during the Red Sox’s series-clinching win in Game 5, Eovaldi entered as a reliever and blew away Bregman with a 102 mph fastball that caused David Price to taunt the third baseman after the K.
The Red Sox and Astros will meet for a three-game series May 17-19 at Fenway Park and again May 24-26 in Houston.
