Cora explains comments that Hyde deems disrespectful

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde spent part of last night’s media session praising his hitters, saying it was the best offensive performance of the season beyond perhaps the first two games in Boston.

“I mean, who loves no punchouts?” he asked, referring to Chris Sale’s inability to record a strikeout in five innings. “I do.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed different feelings on the topic, on a night when his team’s dissatisfaction with home plate umpire Junior Valentine’s strike zone led to hitting coach Peter Fatse’s ejection in the sixth inning. Cora was tossed after the final out, which results in a fine from the league.

Sale struck out 11 batters in his previous start against the Twins, but the Orioles made contact on 40 of their 42 swings against him in a 5-4 win.

They didn’t have a batter strike out for the first time since Aug. 8, 2010 against the White Sox.

Something wasn't right.

Cora told the media afterward that the Orioles were on everything that Sale threw, saying, “Sliders down and in, they hit it, fastballs up and away, they hit it. The changeups.” He seemed to be alluding to Sale tipping his pitches, or at least giving the Red Sox reason to explore the possibility.

Cora expanded on it this morning in his weekly appearance on the “Gresh and Fauria” radio show, and the insinuations about tipping pitches irritated Hyde, who called them “disrespectful.”

“The no swings and misses is a red flag,” Cora said. “I’m not talking about health, it’s about pitch mix or pitch selection. … The no swings and misses on the slider, and he had an OK one yesterday, is 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.”

Hyde took his turn during today’s media session in the auxiliary clubhouse.

“I’m not sure what he was getting at. Honestly, pretty disappointed in hearing that,” Hyde said.

“I 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. I thought it was the best possibly since I’ve been here.

“I’m not really concerned what other people say about us, honestly. But I did find it disrespectful.”

Cora was surprised by Hyde’s reaction when a Baltimore reporter passed along the comments. He also addressed the elephant in the visiting dugout, his suspension for the 2020 season due to his involvement in the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal.

The irony wasn’t lost on Cora.

“He said that?” Cora asked.

“The red flag is about tipping, it isn’t about anything else. 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 and let him know. But it’s more about, you have to check what’s going on. He’s a big league pitcher, throwing 97 with a great slider and a good changeup with two swings and misses. That’s it.

“They’re doing an outstanding job, we know that. They cover the pitches up, they cover the pitches down. It wasn’t about pointing the finger at them. If he took it that way, I’ll talk to him right now, but that’s not the case.”

Cora doubled back to his punishment.

“I’m the last guy to accuse somebody,” he said. “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.”

Cora theorized that there’s something wrong mechanically with Sale and the club needs to get the veteran more athletic on the mound. A little too stiff, too robotic.

“Hopefully, we can accomplish a few things with his delivery,” Cora said, “make it more aggressive toward the plate.”  

 The Orioles will try to seal the series win tonight after rallying last night from a 4-0 deficit. They’ve played 22 games, and only one margin has been more than four runs – a 7-2 win in Texas on April 4.

“Character builder,” Hyde said. “Not great for the blood pressure.”

The Orioles are starting Kyle Gibson, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish in the four-game series in Detroit that begins Thursday.