BOSTON — When ESPN cameras showed Rafael Devers slowing down halfway to first base on a sixth-inning ground ball to the right side Sunday night, it caught everyone’s attention.
Had Devers run harder, he might have been safe at first on what ultimately became a close play. Red Sox manager Alex Cora had his own questions, as cameras caught him with a puzzled look as Devers returned to the dugout.
But after Sunday’ game and again Monday afternoon, Cora maintained that Devers was not guilty of a lack of effort.
“It wasn’t about hustle,” said Cora, “so let’s leave it at that. He plays every day, obviously he’s a DH and there’s certain things – nothing major — but stuff that we have to pay attention to.”
Cora said he spoke with Devers, who relayed “that he’s doing OK. It’s one of those that….he’ll do his thing in the training room. He keeps it very quiet because he wants to post. Talking to (one of the trainers), nothing major. It’s something that we can actually handle and he’ll be playing.”
Cora later added that the incident in the sixth inning was the first time he became aware that Devers was dealing with something physical.
Devers was hitting second, as the DH, in the Red Sox lineup Monday night against Tampa Bay.
