Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez threw a gem in a Game 3 win on Monday against the Houston Astros, but was on the receiving end of a stern look from manager Alex Cora after the sixth inning in the American League Championship Series.
Rodriguez, as picked up on the FS1 broadcast, induced an inning-ending ground out by Astros star Carlos Correa and sent a nonverbal message to Correa by pointing to his wrist. Correa, as fans may recall, pointed to his wrist to signal it was “his time” while hitting a Game 1, late-inning home run in Houston.
Cora met with Rodriguez as the left-hander walked into the dugout, and while the manager explained what that message included, he expressed everything was just fine with him and Rodriguez.
“Don’t do that. We don’t act that way,” Cora recalled when asked what he told Rodriguez, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I mean, we just show up and we play and we move on. He knows, and I let him know that we don’t have to do that. If we’re looking for motivation outside what we’re trying to accomplish, we’re in the wrong business. The only motivation we have is to win four games against them and move on to the next round.
“Besides that, he was outstanding,” Cora continued. “… Overall, he was great. It’s not that I’m mad at him. It’s like one of the twins, ‘Don’t do that,’ you know? We don’t have to do that. So, he knows. He understands. But we’re not that way. We talk about humble approach and humble players. That’s who we are. We like to grind, we like to play, but we don’t do that.”
Rodriguez acknowledged while speaking on FS1 postgame coverage that he got caught up in the moment, but said he felt “bad” because he did it.
Correa, though, took no issue with it. Correa said he liked to see the emotion from Rodriguez, who he admitted pitched a great game with seven strikeouts and great command of his fastball.
“He did my celebration, I think it was kind of cool,” Correa said, as seen on NESN. “… I love it, personally. The game should move in that direction.”
Behind the six-inning start from Rodriguez and four home runs, the Red Sox claimed a dominant 12-3 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Red Sox and Astros will return to Fenway Park on Tuesday for Game 4, which is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET.
