Houston Astros star Justin Verlander laughed off his choice of words toward Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora in his team's 7-3 victory Tuesday.

Cora came out to speak with the umpires midway through the game "because he thought Verlander was pretending that his PitchCom failed to avoid receiving a pitch clock violation," per MassLive's Christopher Smith.

The television broadcast caught an exchange stemming from this between Verlander and Cora in which the three-time Cy Young Award winner told Cora to "f--k off." After the game concluded, he was mostly amused by the whole thing.

Chandler Rome @Chandler_Rome

You all know what Verlander responded with. Verlander said it is all part of the battle and a heat of the moment thing. He smiled and laughed while recounting it all. There doesn't seem to be any malice.

Cora, who worked with Verlander in 2017 as the Astros' bench coach, was similarly dismissive about the comment.

"This is a kid I have the utmost respect (for)," he told reporters. "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."

Verlander threw six scoreless innings and struck out nine batters in the win. He improved his record to 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA since returning to Houston ahead of the MLB trade deadline.