How Alex Cora Felt Red Sox Batters Attacked Nathan Eovaldi

Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted before his team’s contest with the Rangers that he attempted a bit of gamesmanship with Texas starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.

While the mind games most likely did not affect Eovaldi, the Red Sox batters did their job by knocking seven hits and five runs against the two-time World Series champion. Cora said the hitting starts with Jarren Duran and Rafael Devers.

“We’re not trying to pull the ball. We’re just getting pitches in the zone and reacting to it. They’ve been relentless,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Everything starts with Jarren and Raffy, those two are playing every day, they’re putting in good at-bats.”

Cora continued: “Today against Nate, one of the things I always talk to them about is like he throws strikes but you have to be stubborn in the strike zone. He wants you to expand. … We were stubborn, get him in the middle of the zone, and we did. We got the pitch count up the first two innings. We didn’t score, but that was a W for us, and we kept putting pressure on him.”

The Red Sox got to Eovaldi in the third inning when Duran doubled to center to score Hamilton for his first RBI of the night. Duran would add a solo home run in the fifth inning, but it was Wilyer Abreu’s emotional performance that powered Boston past Texas for the series win.

The Red Sox trail the Kansas City Royals by 2 1/2 games for the third American League wild card spot, which Boston faces in a three-game set starting Monday night at Kauffman Stadium.