Alex Cora cursed at by Justin Verlander, ejected in Red Sox loss

Alex Cora was on the receiving end of an expletive from Astros ace Justin Verlander and later was ejected for arguing balls and strikes during a contentious game Tuesday night for the Red Sox manager.

Verlander was unhappy with Cora for coming onto the field and telling him to hurry up in the second inning when the three-time Cy Young Award winner's PitchCom device was malfunctioning.

Verlander brushed off Cora with the expletive, saying "f--- off, Alex" during an exchange that was caught by the field microphones.

Cora, who was Houston's bench coach during the Astros' 2017 World Series run fueled in part by Verlander, told reporters he thought the veteran right-hander was pretending to experience problems with his PitchCom to avoid a pitch clock violation.

"We've seen this before," Cora told reporters, according to MassLive.com. "I think we've been in that place, too -- kind of [acting] like the PitchCom doesn't work. But when you're shaking off, shaking off, shaking off, what are you shaking off for? ... I told him he shook off a few times. He said he did not. I said, 'Just go pitch,' and then he blew me off."

Verlander laughed it off after that game, saying Cora might have done it just to try to fluster him.

"In part it was just me being like, I'm done with this," said Verlander, who pitched six scoreless innings in Houston's 7-3 victory. "You do what you want, talk to the umpire. I'm going to worry about pitching."

Cora and Red Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo were ejected for arguing balls and strikes in separate incidents after the spat with Verlander. Verdugo was ejected in the top of the fourth by plate umpire Pat Hoberg, who later tossed Cora after the manager objected to the call of ball four to Alex Bregman in the bottom of the seventh.

It was the second ejection in three games for Cora, who stood at the plate and kicked dirt before yelling in Hoberg's face after he was tossed. Cora cited a pair of called third strikes against Boston's Justin Turner among the sources of his frustration with Hoberg.

It was the second consecutive loss for the Red Sox (66-60), who fell five games behind the Mariners (71-55) for the American League's third wild card.

Verlander (9-6) allowed five hits and struck out a season-high nine in his fourth start since returning to the Astros in a trade with the Mets.

"[Verlander] is a kid I have the utmost respect [for]," Cora said. "We talk and all that stuff. It's just the heat of the battle, whatever. He's one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game, especially the last 12, 13 years."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.