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 that he thought the veteran right-hander was pretending to…