A “big-time” game by Gerrit Cole usually contains fewer runs, more innings and about double the number of strikeouts.
The Yankees ace wasn’t his best Friday against the Rays, but he washed away his implosion five days earlier against the same red-hot opponent with a just-enough performance in a 6-5 victory fueled by an attack in the late collection.
Cole overcame a 30-pitched first inning, limited the damage to a pair of solo home runs with two outs and struckout four batters in five innings.
“That epitomized our night overall: a valiant effort,” manager Aaron Boone said. “After a long first inning, a long second inning and even a long third inning, it’s not always going to be perfect to be able to give us five and keep us in the game, but that was a great outing in my life.” display.”
Of course, Cole’s $324 million contract comes with huge expectations amid playoff-style games like Friday’s at Yankee Stadium.
But this was certainly an improvement on his first major hiccup in a dominant start to the season – a 6-0 lead in a Sunday loss to the Rays.
“It was just a good fight,” said Cole. “As the game progressed, we got into a better rhythm, the delivery got a little better and we started to throw more throws.
“We started to get the slider a bit closer to the edge. We came out to make a fastball. We came away from the fastball in the sixth inning and the last start in the fifth inning, so we wanted to make sure that was in a good spot.
When a pitcher faces the same opponent in back-to-back starts, “the advantage for the hitters is huge,” said Yankees slugger Anthony Rizzo, crediting Cole’s adjustments.
Randy Arozarena homered off Cole in the first inning and struck an antagonistic pose in the visitor’s dugout as he tipped third base.
“He always does, right?” Cole said. “That’s predictable.”
Jose Siri, who homered off Cole on Sunday, beat Cole in the second inning for a 2-1 lead.
“I was trying to take a competitive pitch to the limit,” Cole said. “I don’t think it was in the strike zone. That was a good swing on a good field.”
