It was difficult for Cora to let takeout slide

TORONTO -- When Alex Cora got up, dusted himself off, and tried to control himself long enough to refrain from going after Lyle Overbay, another thought popped into his head as angry mutterings popped out of his mouth. He just hoped his mother -- or daughter or wife -- wasn't watching and reading lips yesterday.

With Mike Timlin on the mound in the eighth inning -- Vernon Wells on third base, Overbay on first -- Aaron Hill tapped back to Timlin, who turned to start a double play.

Timlin's relay to shortstop Cora was a little high and off the bag -- the pitcher said he "short-armed the ball" -- and, with Overbay bearing down, Cora managed to tag the base and relay to Eric Hinske at first for the 1-6-3 double play. But Overbay slid away from the bag, hitting the dirt on the right-field side of second base, and coming close to Cora's knees.

"It was a tackle," Cora said, after going 2 for 4 in his first start at shortstop this season in the Red Sox' 5-3 victory. "I don't mind if you go hard, but not with your arms up. He can't reach back [and touch the bag]. For me, personally, it wasn't a clean slide."

Cora was steamed, but he remained focused, too, which showed in the next inning of a 3-3 game.

With one out and Julio Lugo on first, pinch running for Dustin Pedroia, Cora got a pitch to drive and sent it into the gap in left-center. Lugo scored on the triple by Cora, who came home on a deep sacrifice fly to center by Coco Crisp to finish off the scoring.

"It's tough because you know you're going to get hit," said Lugo, who is familiar with hard slides into second base. "The thing you've got to think about is how you're going to try to avoid it. You don't know how hard you're going to get hit or where, but you know you're going to get hit.

"There's certain ways you can slide. You can slide hard and clean or you can slide hard and dirty. I didn't see exactly what happened, but if Alex was mad . . . I know Alex is a veteran player, and he knows when guys are doing it the wrong way."

And, though he gave some of the benefit of the doubt to Overbay, Cora believed he was trying a little too hard to break up the double play. Cora said they have had no prior problems, citing Overbay as "a good guy, a great guy."

His dance around the bag completed, his knee fine despite the slide, Cora was showered with praise in the clubhouse after the game. For the double-play work. For the triple, the game-winning hit. For being the type of player who is extraordinarily valuable to have on the bench.

"He plays the game is what he does," manager Terry Francona said. "If he needs to make a play, he makes a play. That double play he turned, that ball was going into center field. You're chasing it down. We end up getting the double play. He got hit, he hung in there. And he helps you with his bat. Then he helps you with his legs.

"Little things end up being big things on a day like today."

But as much as the good parts would make him smile on the plane ride back to Boston, especially in light of winning two of three over a division rival with the Yankees coming in today, Cora demonstrated both his anger and his ability to relent after a play that was, in his eyes, questionable.

Asked how upset he was, Cora said, "I don't know. I was talking Spanish. I can't say it.

"That's something that I really don't like in the game. That part really bothers me sometimes. It's not that everybody does it. I know he probably won't do it again. It's just the situation. He breaks up the play, they score one run. But that's one part of the game that gets me upset."

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.