Gerrit Cole gives up two homers in loss to Boston

Cole struck out seven over those six scoreless, and he allowed just four hits and a pair of walks while throwing 60-of-99 pitches for strikes. The 35-year-old veteran didn’t have the same swing-and-miss stuff he did against the Pirates when he whiffed 11 in his previous outing, but he was even more effective while lowering his ERA to 3.57 in the process. Cole has not pitched like a fantasy ace for the majority of 2026, but he has over his last few outings. He’s scheduled to face the Cubs on Sunday and will look to continue this impressive run.

Cole bested his previous season high in strikeouts by one. He got 21 whiffs on 53 swings and recorded eight strikeouts with his fastball, which had a 45 percent CSW on the day. Cole was in line for the loss when he threw his final pitch, but the Yankees came back and scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie things up. As a result, Cole remained 3-5 with a 3.92 ERA and an excellent 66/12 K/BB ratio through 62 innings. He’ll likely face the White Sox on Monday.

For six innings, it seemed as if Cole was going to start the second half with a statement. It took him just 90 pitches to get through those six innings and he was in complete control throughout. Then, he walked Mookie Betts to start the seventh and missed with a few fastballs during that at-bat which he wasn’t missing with earlier. Max Muncy came up next and launched a two-run homer after a seven-pitch battle that sullied Cole’s outing and put him in line for the loss. There’s still a ton to be positive about after this start, like Cole’s thirteen total swings-and-misses with his fastball, slider, changeup, and curve each forcing multiple. It just sullied his outing when manager Aaron Boone tried to push him through that seventh inning. He’s scheduled to face the Pirates at home next time out and it’s likely he pitches better than his 3.93 ERA from this point forward.

Cole will be followed by Ryan Weathers on Saturday and Cam Schlittler on Sunday. The 35-year-old hurler had a solid first half in his return from Tommy John surgery, posting a 4.04 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 47/11 K/BB ratio over 49 innings of work through his first nine starts.

Cole struck out six while throwing 97 pitches, his most since returning from Tommy John surgery. The loss was the Yankees’ 11th in their past 13 contests. He has now made nine starts, and his 4.04 ERA would be his highest single-season mark since his last year with the Pirates in 2017. There’s plenty of time for the veteran to lower it, but his strikeout rate has been well below his usual standard. This was Cole’s final start of the first half. The Yankees host the Dodgers coming out of the All-Star break.

Cole retired the first two batters he faced on Friday, but gave up a solo homer to Kody Clemens with two outs in the first to give the Twins an early lead. He would later allow another run to come around and score in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Victor Caratini, but Cole was solid despite the brief four-inning appearance. The righty didn’t allow a walk all night and threw 71.8 percent of his pitches for strikes while striking out seven batters. He’ll draw a tough start next Wednesday on the road against the Rays.

Cole gave up nine hits, walked one and struck out five. He fell to 2-2 with the loss. Cole gave up his first run on a Kevin McGonigle RBI groundout that followed a lead-off triple by Zach McKinstry in the third inning. With two outs and nobody on base, Cole allowed the next four Tigers to reach with two additional runs scoring. He’d go on to allow single runs in the next two innings and leave the game with the Yankees trailing, 5-1. Cole has a 3.62 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Red Sox on the road this weekend.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone downplayed any concern regarding Gerrit Cole’s health earlier this weekend, stating that they merely want to give everyone in the rotation an extra day of rest. The 35-year-old veteran will get the ball for Monday’s series opener against Detroit with Rodríguez making a spot start against the Reds on Sunday afternoon. The 22-year-old top prospect’s raw numbers illustrate the significant gap between Triple-A and the majors, as he’s posted an inflated 4.15 ERA across 13 innings at the highest level while turning in a strong 3.00 ERA over 51 innings on the doorstep this season. He has a bright future ahead of him, but Rodríguez isn’t an appealing streaming option in a one-and-done spot spot start before heading back to Triple-A.

Jake Bird is being sent down. The Yankees are in the midst of a long stretch without a day off, so they wanted to give their starters some extra rest. Cole will now face the Tigers in Detroit, rather than the Reds at home. It also sets up Cam Schlittler to pitch Thursday in Boston, rather than Wednesday in Detroit.

Cole allowed one run on an Andrew Benintendi homer in the first and then got 11 runs of support through the fourth before giving up a second run in the sixth. Cole got up to 90 pitches tonight, seven more than he’d thrown in any of his first four starts. He’s 2-1 with a 24/8 K/BB through 28 innings, and he’s due to get the Reds next.