Eduardo Rodriguez Mocks Carlos Correa's Watch Celebration; Alex Cora Not Happy About It

BOSTON (CBS) -- If the Boston Red Sox took Carlos Correa's home run celebration personally in Game 1, then manager Alex Cora does not want anybody to know about it.

Cora -- who was the Astros' bench coach in 2017 when they won the World  Series, and who managed Correa in the World Baseball Classic for Puerto Rico -- hasn't said anything to fan any flames before or during this ALCS against his old employer. And based on his reaction to a move from Eduardo Rodriguez on Monday night, he wants to keep things as quiet as possible.

Rodriguez retired Correa to end the sixth inning, capping an impressive start from the left-hander, in which he allowed three runs and left with a 9-3 lead. On his walk toward the dugout, Rodriguez pointed to his wrist, a clear response to Correa's celebration at the plate after he hit a huge home run in Game 1 of the series.

Celebrating like that, of course, isn't a violation of the "unwritten rules" anymore, like it might have been even five or so years ago. Still, an opponent won't forget being shown up like that, and would likely enjoy responding by simply winning games from that point forward.

That's also likely why Cora reacted harshly upon seeing Rodriguez make the gesture to his wrist.

"Hey!" Cora was seen yelling at Rodriguez from the dugout. "No! No!

In a series where emotions can get heightened, Cora clearly didn't want anything in a 9-3 game to lead to any inspiration from the opponent going forward.

After the 12-3 Red Sox win, Cora was asked what he said to Rodriguez.

"Don't do that," Cora relayed. "Because we don't act that way. We just show up, we play, and we move on, and he knows. I let him know. We don't have to do that. If we're looking for motivation outside of what we're trying to accomplish, we're in the wrong business. The only motivation we have is to win four games against them and move on to the next round."

Cora said he's not mad at Rodriguez, and likened his comments to the way he talks to his twin boys when they do something wrong.

"It's not that I'm mad at him. It's like one of the twins. Don't do that. We don't have to do that," Cora said. "So he knows. He understands, but we're not that way. We talk about humble approach and humble players, and that's who we are. We like to grind, and we like to play, but we don't do that."

Rodriguez was asked about that conversation with Cora, and said he regretted the move.

"He just told me don't do that. Like I said earlier, it was something that was part of the moment. But he just told me, like, I mean, we don't do that here. Stay humble. Just go out there and play hard every time," Rodriguez shared. "I will apologize to Correa if I see him in person because that's not something I normally do, and it was just part of the game. That's it."

While the Red Sox may have been down about it, Correa himself ... didn't care at all. In fact, he loved it.

Correa liking the move is perhaps something that Cora was afraid might happen in the first place.

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• Houston Astros
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