BALTIMORE — Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said he was “pretty disappointed” in comments made by Boston Red Sox skipper Alex Cora on Monday night questioning Baltimore’s success at the plate, calling them “disrespectful to our hitters.”
After Baltimore’s 5-4 win, Cora was asked about starting pitcher Chris Sale’s struggles, which included getting just two whiffs on the Orioles’ 42 swings against him. The Orioles didn’t strike out in the game, the first time they’ve achieved that feat since Aug. 8, 2010.
“At one point there, there was no swings-and-misses and tough pitches,” Cora told reporters. “But we better give credit to them, I guess. There was one at-bat there by [James] McCann that was sliders down and in, and he kept fouling off, fouling off, fouling off, and then he got a fastball. It was down, the location wasn’t great, and he hit a rocket the other way. I don’t know. We got to take a look at it and see if we find something. I’m not saying, you know — got to give credit to them.”
When asked about Cora’s comments, Hyde said Tuesday afternoon that he wasn’t “sure what he was getting at.”
“Honestly, pretty disappointed in hearing that,” Hyde said. “Thought it was disrespectful to our hitters, to be honest with you. I thought we had a great game plan. I thought we had major league hitters take really good at-bats. And I loved our approach last night. That was the best, possibly since I’ve been here, of one-through-nine, nine-inning approach off a starter, and I’m not really concerned about what other people say about us, honestly. But I did find it disrespectful.”
During a weekly radio appearance Tuesday morning, Cora said Sale’s inability to induce swings and misses was a “red flag” in regards to the left-hander’s stuff or whether he was tipping his pitches. Sale struck out 11 in his previous start and 30 in his first 18 innings of the season. The Orioles tagged the 34-year-old veteran for nine hits and five runs in the comeback victory. It was the first start in Sale’s career in which he made it past the first inning and didn’t record a strikeout.
“The no swings and misses is a red flag,” Cora said on “The Gresh and Fauria Show” on WEEI in Boston. “I’m not talking about health, it’s about pitch mix or pitch selection. Obviously, the fastball up in the zone was a non-competitive pitch. The no swings-and-misses on the slider, and he had an OK one yesterday, is one where we have to get back to the drawing board and see if there’s something going on tipping-wise or pitch selection or all that stuff because it doesn’t make sense.
“The guy struck out 30 guys his first three or four starts with OK stuff, and yesterday it was very similar and we didn’t get one. So, we’ll take a look, work at it and get him ready for Sunday.”
Cora said before Tuesday’s game that he was only referring to whether Sale was tipping his pitches and was not accusing the Orioles of doing anything nefarious. Cora was the bench coach for the Houston Astros in 2017 and was one of three men suspended for their involvement in the team’s sign-stealing scandal. Cora, who was hired as Boston’s manager after the 2017 season, was suspended for the 2020 campaign and then rehired before the 2021 season.
“Well, the ‘red flag’ is about tipping. It’s not about anything else,” said Cora, who was initially surprised that Hyde said his comments were “disrespectful.” “For me to accuse somebody of doing something wrong, I’m the last guy that can say that because I put myself in this situation in ’17. So if he took it that way, I’ll talk to him right now. I’ll let him know. But it’s more about, you know, you have to check what’s going on. He’s a big league pitcher throwing 97 [mph] with a great slider and a good change-up with two swings and misses. That’s it. They’re doing an awesome job. We know that.
“They covered the pitches up. They covered the pitches down, but it wasn’t about pointing the finger at them. If he took it that way, I’ll talk to him right now. That’s not the case. I’m the last guy to accuse somebody. I was the guy suspended for what happened in 2017, so I’m the last guy that can accuse somebody of doing something wrong if that’s what he thought I was saying.”
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Baltimore Sun reporter Nathan Ruiz contributed to this article.