Perhaps the Orioles experienced their first sure sign that they are a force to be reckoned with in Major League Baseball when a misunderstanding turned into back-and-forth press conference comments lobbed between American League East rivals.

Baltimore, on a seven-game winning streak, is playing like a team that can ruffle the feathers of teams such as the Boston Red Sox. As it turns out, though, it was much ado about nothing.

After the Orioles beat the Red Sox at Camden Yards on Monday night, Boston manager Alex Cora said the lack of swings and misses by opposing batters against left-hander Chris Sale was a concern. In his initial comments to reporters, Cora gave credit to Baltimore’s batters but noted how they expressed amazement at how they covered all parts of the plate despite “tough pitches.” On the postgame radio show, Cora called it a “red flag” that the Orioles whiffed just twice on 42 swings against Sale.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said pregame Tuesday that he didn’t know exactly what Cora meant, but he found the potential insinuation that the Orioles were doing something nefarious as “disrespectful.”

“Honestly, pretty disappointed hearing that,” Hyde said. “I thought it was disrespectful to our hitters, to be honest with you. I thought we had a great game plan, I thought major league hitters take really good at-bats. And I loved our approach last night. Thought it was the best possibly since I’ve been here. Numbers 1 through 9, a nine-inning approach, off a starter. I’m not really concerned about what other people say about us, honestly. But I did find it disrespectful.”

When asked Tuesday, Cora said he would talk to Hyde to clarify what he meant. His comment about a “red flag,” he said, was about the possibility that Sale tipped his pitches, and he meant the Red Sox would study his outing to see if that was a possibility. As of Tuesday, Cora said he thought Sale’s struggles — which lasted five innings and featured nine hits and five runs off him — came down to mechanics.

“You have to check what’s going on,” Cora said. “It’s a big league pitcher throwing 97 with a great slider and a good change-up with two swings and misses. That’s it. They’re doing an outstanding job, we know that. They cover the pitches up, they cover the pitch down. But it wasn’t about pointing the finger at them.”

Cora also referenced his involvement in the Houston Astros cheating scandal, when he was the bench coach in 2017. He was suspended for the 2020 season.

“For me to accuse somebody of doing something wrong, I’m the last guy who can say that, because I put myself in that situation in ’17,” Cora said. “If he took it that way, I’ll talk to him right now, but no, that’s not the case. I’m the last guy to accuse somebody. I’m the guy who was suspended for what happened in 2017, so I’m the last guy who can accuse somebody of doing something wrong, if that’s what he thought I was saying.”

andy.kostka@thebaltimorebanner.com