For a moment on Thursday afternoon, before the taut finale of another Yankees-Red Sox clash that has found its old, thrilling mojo, Boston Manager Alex Cora sounded like an analyst again. Someone asked about reliever Carson Smith, who had smoothly navigated the roiling Bronx seas the night before. Cora acknowledged that, but made a larger point about the Yankees.
“What they’re doing against relievers, it’s unreal,” said Cora, who worked for ESPN before coaching in Houston last season. “The last, what, three weeks, they did it to the Angels, they did it to the Astros, to the Indians, to us.