NEW YORK -- Gerrit Cole stepped off the mound, flashing four fingers wide to point Rafael Devers toward first base. After years of being hit hard by the Red Sox slugger, the Yankees¡¯ ace seemed ready to try a new strategy.

Cole walked Devers intentionally with the bases empty and one out in the fourth inning on Saturday, an unorthodox nod of respect from the hurler toward his arch-nemesis. Devers looked back quizzically at home plate umpire Marvin Hudson, then tossed his bat aside.

The decision soon backfired for Cole and the Yankees, setting up a three-run Boston inning that unraveled the hurler¡¯s afternoon and prompted numerous questions following New York¡¯s 7-1 loss at Yankee Stadium.

¡°Clearly, that was a mistake,¡± Cole said. ¡°I think that I bought into the plan going into it, but afterward, it was the wrong move.¡±

The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, Cole has not been shy about his struggles against Devers, who came into Saturday¡¯s action with 13 hits in 39 at-bats (.333) and eight home runs off Cole. Those eight homers are the most against any opponent for both Cole and Devers.

In fact, during a press conference at Yankee Stadium earlier this week honoring Hispanic Heritage Day, Cole was asked which Latin hitter has given him the most trouble. He did not hesitate: "Rafael Devers."

Devers¡¯ dominance was also a topic in the Yanks¡¯ pre-series meetings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the team discussed being open to intentionally walking Devers in non-traditional spots. Still, given the game situation, he thought Cole was ¡°overthinking the situation,¡± and he would have liked his ace to go after Devers.

¡°Once we scored the run [in the third inning], my preference would have been, ¡®Let¡¯s attack him,¡¯¡± Boone said. ¡°But obviously, I didn¡¯t communicate that well enough. I think Gerrit was a little indecisive out there and rolled with it.¡±

Cole said he spoke with pitching coach Matt Blake, noting that because of a thin bullpen, intentionally walking Devers ¡°might be the most efficient way to keep the line moving¡± while allowing Cole to keep a low pitch count. Once Cole signaled for the walk, Boone said he ¡°didn¡¯t want to get involved.¡±

Curiously, catcher Austin Wells said that he was ¡°caught off guard¡± by the intentional walk, which he believed shifted the momentum in Boston¡¯s favor.

¡°I was not in that conversation,¡± Wells said. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that was in the plans.¡±

After the free pass, Devers promptly stole second base. Cole walked the next batter, Tyler O¡¯Neill, then surrendered a run-scoring Masataka Yoshida double and a two-run Wilyer Abreu single. The Yankees had a one-run lead coming into the inning, and they walked off the field trailing 3-1.

It was the earliest bases-empty intentional walk issued by the Yankees on record. Two were issued in the sixth inning: to the Athletics¡¯ Al Simmons in 1930 (by Roy Sherid) and the Senators¡¯ Frank Howard in 1970 (by Fritz Peterson).

¡°He caught me by surprise,¡± Devers said through an interpreter. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that from a future Hall of Famer. I feel like he panicked a little bit.¡±

Less than two months ago, on this same diamond, the Blue Jays tipped their cap to a scorching-hot Aaron Judge with a bases-empty, second-inning free pass. The strategy worked in that Aug. 3 game, as the Yankees were turned aside without scoring.

¡°If I make pitches after that and I continue to execute at a high level, then the plan works,¡± Cole said. ¡°Evidently, the plan didn¡¯t work. I need to make better pitches afterward in order for it to work.¡±

The timing also drew scrutiny because Cole had cruised through the first three innings, permitting only one baserunner -- a first-inning hit-by-pitch of Devers. That represented a red flag for Boston manager Alex Cora, who suggested the walk proved that Cole hit Devers intentionally.

¡°He doesn¡¯t want to face him; that¡¯s the bottom line,¡± Cora said. ¡°He told us with the intentional walk that the first at-bat, he hit him [intentionally]. We¡¯ll leave it at that.¡±

Boone disagreed, and Cole responded: ¡°He can believe what he wants to believe. I didn¡¯t hit him on purpose.¡±

Devers padded his ledger in the fifth, stroking a two-run single off Cole. That hit came with the bases loaded; there was no room to walk Devers that time. Given the outcome of this experiment, chances are that it is a strategy the Yankees won¡¯t care to employ again anytime soon.

¡°I think we all wish we could go the other way on certain things, right?¡± Boone said. ¡°But at the end of the day, we didn¡¯t make the pitches when we had opportunities, and it burned us today. So we¡¯ll get past this and get ready for the next one.¡±