HOUSTON — If Alex Bregman was trying to get a rise out of the Boston Red Sox, it didn’t work.
On Monday, the Houston third baseman posted a video to his Instagram account that showed the Astros hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs at Minute Maid Park against Nathan Eovaldi, with the text caption, “lil pregame video work.” Bregman hit the second of the three homers against Eovaldi, who was pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays at the time.
Eovaldi was traded to Boston in July and is slated to start Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in Houston on Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, Eovaldi said he hadn’t actually seen the video, but that he was aware of it and was trying to stay focused on the task at hand.
“I still have a job to do,” he said. “I’ve got to go out there and pitch my game tomorrow and I can’t have any distractions.”
Like Eovaldi, Red Sox manager Alex Cora claimed he hadn’t seen Bregman’s post. Cora added that, with the best-of-seven series tied at one, he doesn’t think his players need any extra incentive.
“If you need motivation in Game 3 of the ALCS, you better check yourself,” said the first-year skipper. “Because you win three more games, you go to the show. And that’s what should motivate you. Alex has different ways of motivating himself and whatever. I’ll leave it at that.”
Bregman’s post is merely the latest episode of off-field antics that Cora and the Red Sox have endured. Following Boston’s Game 2 AL Division Series loss to the Yankees, slugger Aaron Judge walked by the Red Sox clubhouse on his way out of Fenway Park, blaring the classic song “New York, New York.” Upon returning to the Bronx, the Red Sox routed the Yankees 16-1 in Game 3, then eliminated them a day later with a 4-3 win. A week later, Cora has no hard feelings about Judge’s gesture, or the more recent one from Bregman.
“I don’t take it personal,” he said. “I don’t play anymore. Probably when I was playing I would be like, here we go, like whatever. But I don’t throw a ball. I don’t have to hit. I don’t make errors anymore. I just manage a team. And I don’t get caught up on that. But it’s always good that people talk about the game. And if that’s the reason they’re talking about it, so be it. But from my end, I don’t pay attention to that.”
As of Monday evening, Bregman’s Instagram account no longer contained a post with video from Eovaldi’s June start in Houston.