Crybaby Cole? Yankees ace won't give Rafael Devers, Red Sox fans the satisfaction

Only in the Bronx can a decisive New York Yankees win still feel like a loss. In the end, three home runs from Yankees rookie Ben Rice saved Gerrit Cole an embarrassing defeat at the hands of a man who, in every sense of the word, owns him.

Overall, Cole's numbers against the Red Sox are not horrible, though they are a significant downturn compared to the ace-level pitching we're accustomed to from him. Cole is 7-5 with a 4.84 ERA against Boston.

On Saturday afternoon, Cole lasted just over four innings and gave up seven hits and four runs. The loudest of those hits came off the bat of Rafael Devers, and signaled to manager Aaron Boone that Cole's day was done.

Gerrit Cole showed little fire after a viral home run trot from Rafael Devers

Devers celebrated his home run off Cole -- the eighth of his career, by the way -- and took his time running around the basepaths. To Cole's credit, he could have taken this personally, or even jawed back and forth with the Red Sox dugout. Minus a brief staredown and the aftershock of letting the same Red Sox star beat him again in the moment, there was little reaction from the Yankees ace.

"As a pitcher, if you don't want him to watch a home run [and] trot, then you probably shouldn't give up a home run," Cole said after the game.

That's a shockingly mature answer from a pitcher who, at times, has brought the worst out of his opponents. Whether it be Devers, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah, or even Mariners manager Scott Servais (remember that?), Cole isn't afraid to share his honest opinion. With Devers, however, there was little to say.

As Cole said after the game, the Yankees have struggled of late. Once the best team in the American League and an unquestioned force with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto in the middle of their lineup, New York has done anything but flex since Cole's return.

“We’re going through it, so we’ll take any kind of success,” Cole said. “Really, I think it’s a little bit greater than that. It’s a historical day, a magical day. And to be honest, I’m pretty thankful that I get to be on the lineup card because I know he’ll remember it forever.”

A win is a win is a win, even if it comes with another viral moment Cole must hear about for years to come in Boston. Rather than harp on one failure, Cole is strictly business.