Alex Cora stirs the pot in simmering rivalry

BOSTON

Something seems to be missing with the Yankees lately, and if we had to put our finger on it, that something probably sounds a lot like Alex Cora’s postgame news conference after the Red Sox beat them again Friday night, this time 4-1 at Fenway Park.

Cora is quickly turning into a Yankees instigator, along the lines of a Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz or Curt Schilling. And when he sees an opening, he exploits it, as the Sox manager did after getting thrown out Friday in the first inning.

Cora took issue with Luis Severino flipping Mookie Betts with a 96-mph fastball under the chin, and he had to be restrained by crew chief Phil Cuzzi while jawing with plate umpire Adam Hamari.

Cora enjoys playing with fire; he’s comfortable in it. And just as he did back in April, in his verbal dust-up with Yankees third-base coach Phil Nevin, Cora railed at his rivals in the wake of a second straight win that pushed Boston’s AL East lead to 7 1⁄2 games.

Severino denied that he targeted Betts as revenge for Brett Gardner getting plunked by Rick Porcello to open the game, but Cora wasn’t buying it. He could be seen screaming at Severino from the dugout before his ejection, then took a few more jabs afterward.

“They know how I feel about it,” Cora said. “I don’t appreciate them throwing at Mookie Betts’ head. If they felt [Porcello’s] 0-and-2, front-door sinker had intent, well, first pitch of the game, right at the head of the best player in baseball, there’s intent.”

Hitting Gardner was one of Porcello’s few mistakes in the Greg Maddux-like, 86-pitch, complete-game performance. Credit Severino for sticking up for Gardner by buzzing Betts with his opening fastball — the pitch that triggered warnings to both teams — even if he later denied doing anything intentional. That‘s the traditional response in those situations, as no pitcher can admit to throwing at a batter without facing discipline, but Severino got his point across without so much as nicking Betts. “If I’m going to hit somebody,” he said, “I’m not going to miss.”

Exactly. Nobody said Severino was trying to drill Betts, but everybody got the point. Unfortunately for the Yankees, it was the only sign of resistance they showed Friday night, and it led Cuzzi to prompt Hamari to warn both benches.

Hamari, as you may remember, was the same umpire who tossed Noah Syndergaard for throwing behind Chase Utley at Citi Field. That was supposed to be revenge against the Dodgers second baseman — and career Mets nemesis — for breaking Ruben Tejada’s leg with a slide seven months earlier.

On Friday, Cora’s grandstanding efforts earned a standing ovation from the lathered-up Fenway crowd as he stormed off the field. Though it’s true the Red Sox undoubtedly are the best team in the sport right now, Cora’s fiery nature brings an additional edge, and Friday‘s outburst was the classic example of a manager standing up for his players.

“That’s nothing new,” Porcello told reporters afterward. “He’s been our emotional leader all year. He is our leader.”

The Yankees, however, seem to be lacking that internal spark recently. How that translates into wins and losses is impossible to break down analytically, but the Yankees have lost three straight, including Wednesday‘s embarrassment against the lowly Orioles. This was a far cry from the April series at Fenway, when Tyler Austin charged the mound to attack reliever Joe Kelly and the two teams went toe-to-toe in the middle of the field. The Yankees refused to back down.

No longer. Severino’s retaliation against Betts, and Cora’s outburst, served to fire up the Red Sox. The strategy backfired, Steve Pearce smacked his fourth homer in the span of 10 innings, and the Yankees again had the wind knocked out of them.

Now Chance Adams will face the Red Sox and the Fenway cauldron on Saturday — in his major-league debut.

“Look, I know we’re not in the best situation,” Aaron Boone said. “I understand all that. All we can do is be hyper-focused on where we’re at. We’re being tested to a degree.”

By the Red Sox, by Cora, by the Yankees’ own vulnerabilities. It’s adding up to what could be a long, frustrating — and ultimately costly — weekend at Fenway Park.