Gerrit Cole strikes out seven in win over Twins

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.

Although he no longer has nemesis Rafael Devers to contend with, Cole’s struggles against the Red Sox continued today; he has a 7.13 ERA in 10 starts against them since the beginning of 2022. Masataka Yoshida and Anthony Seigler homered off him, though Seigler’s was a 339-footer over the Green Monster that would have left only one other major league ballpark. In all, he allowed nine hard-hit balls and seven hits. He struck out five. Cole is now 2-3 with a 4.06 ERA since returning from elbow surgery. He’ll next face the Twins on Friday.

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.

Cole was checked on by the trainer following an odd play in the third in which he slid into first after being late to cover and tagged the bag with his pitching hand. However, he was able to remain in, and there was no early indication that it had anything to do with his exit. Cole threw 83 pitches to get his 12 outs tonight, which was probably why he didn’t come out for the fifth. His velocity was great; he averaged 97.6 mph with his fastball and actually peaked at 100.0. However, he walked two and hit a batter, with a catcher’s interference also driving up his pitch count. The Yankees are off Thursday and Monday, so Cole figures to make his next start next Tuesday against the White Sox.

Cole was charged with four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two. The former Cy Young winner pitched much better in his first two outings back from Tommy John, including a 10-strikeout gem last time out. The homers were the first he had given up. He’ll look to get back on track next time out in the same matchup against the Guardians, but this time in Cleveland.

Now this is Gerrit Cole. He was utterly dominant facing just three batters over the minimum and forcing 15 swings-and-misses. He got some help from his defense too when Aaron Judge threw a strike to nail Michael Massey at home plate. After that, just one more Royal reached scoring position as the righties had fits trying to put a bat on Cole’s slider and lefties the same with his changeup. It was all held up by his fastball that consistently sat around 97 mph and Cole was able to spot it wherever he wanted. This looked like one of the best pitchers in the league, as Cole has been for the better part of the last decade. Keep an eye on his workload, as he hasn’t gone above 80 pitches yet in two starts off the injured list. He’s scheduled to face the Guardians next time out.

Cole allowed a leadoff single to Chandler Simpson in the first inning and followed that off with a walk to Junior Caminero. Despite the rough start, Cole would get Jonathan Aranda to fly out and then picked off Simpson at second and struck out Yandy Díaz to end the threat. Cole settled in after that, pitching four-straight scoreless frames while at one point needing just 11 pitches combined to get through the third and fourth innings. The veteran righty was in command all night, throwing a first pitch strike to 18 of the 22 batters he faced while seemingly hitting all of his spots. The Yankees couldn’t have asked for a much better start from Cole, who made his first regular-season appearance since September 26, 2024. He’ll look to ride this hot start into his next outing, which is scheduled for Wednesday at the Royals.