Gerrit Cole is back! Three things we learned from the return of the Yankees ace
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — For nearly three months, the New York Yankees trampled expectations without their ace Gerrit Cole. They posted the best record in the majors while the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner served as an unofficial assistant pitching coach as he recovered from an elbow injury.
But the Yankees know reaching the ultimate goal — winning the franchise’s 28th World Series title and first since 2009 — almost certainly requires a healthy Cole on the mound in October.
Cole’s season debut Wednesday night in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium was a significant checkpoint. And the results were encouraging: Four-plus innings, two runs on three hits and five strikeouts to one walk. Most importantly, Cole emerged healthy. It was a positive, if abbreviated, step in the right direction.
Here are three things to take away from Cole’s first start of the 2024 season.
1. He’s (nearly) ready for prime time
Cole made just three rehab outings in preparation for Wednesday. The pitch counts: 45, 57, 68. The Yankees would’ve been justified in having Cole make one more start in Triple-A to build up further. But they decided Cole was ready enough to use against their chief competition in the AL East. And they were right.
Cole’s average fastball velocity was down 1.6 mph from last season, he gave up some hard contact and he had trouble putting a few batters away, but he was very sharp given the circumstances. The right-hander threw 62 pitches, 40 for strikes. He induced six whiffs and 13 called strikes, with full command of his five-pitch arsenal.
“I think the location was good,” Cole said. “And I felt like the pitches were crisp. I think I got a swing-and miss on every offering. The consistency probably has to progress as well with the pitch count. I threw a couple of wonky sliders, but made a great slider in a big spot. It’s encouraging.”
Not surprisingly, it took some time for Cole to find his footing. His season started with some loud contact. Gunnar Henderson led the game off with a 109.1-mph one-hopper that bounced off second baseman Gleyber Torres‘ glove and into right field for a double. Two batters later, Ryan O’Hearn barreled an 0-2 slider for a 102.3-mph, two-out RBI ground-rule double.
From there, Cole settled in, retiring nine of the next 10 batters he faced. He retired the side in the second inning on just seven pitches. He walked Henderson in the third inning — and watched Henderson steal second base — but registered his first three strikeouts of the season and left Henderson stranded. The Orioles went down in order on 16 pitches in the fourth.
“I thought he got better as the game went along,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The Orioles hit six pitches at least 101.5 mph., but the costly damage was limited to those two doubles in the first inning and Cedric Mullins‘ leadoff single in the fifth. That allowed Cole to average just over 15 pitches per inning, an economic output on a night when he needed to be economical to avoid overstressing the bullpen ahead of Thursday’s rubber game.
Cole exited to a standing ovation in the fifth, with Mullins on base and the game tied at one. Reliever Ron Marinaccio promptly surrendered a two-run home run to Ramon Urías. The Yankees would rally to tie late in the game, so Cole didn’t factor in the decision. It wasn’t a vintage Cole performance, but that was never on the menu.
“It was nice,” Cole said of making his return. “It was kind of a special game for me, a little bit. It’s just been a long few months and a lot of emotions. I wasn’t too sure how I was going to feel out there, but locating the ball quells the nerves a little bit.”
2. He wasn’t happy with how it ended
Cole left the game angry with himself for throwing a high fastball to Mullins to start the fifth inning and end his outing. He explained that was why he looked so frustrated as he left the game — not because he wanted to stay in the game longer.
Cole recalled throwing a fastball away to Mullins in their first clash that produced a lineout to center field. He wasn’t pleased with the location the next time around against the veteran center fielder.
“He’s ready for it,” Cole said of Mullins. “I have like 30 at-bats against him. He put a good swing on it and got up the middle and so probably just a little frustration with the cat and mouse. Cedric got me again on a high fastball.”
Mullins is now 9-for-26 with two doubles and a home run in 27 career plate appearances against Cole.
3. There’s ‘more’ to come … but how much more is a mystery
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Gerrit Cole’s son exhilarated after spotting dad from stands
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole gives a nod toward the stands to his son Caden, who is very happy to see his dad in the dugout.
Before the game, Boone refused to divulge Cole’s pitch count, asserting that sharing the information would create a competitive disadvantage. It turns out the number was 65, which was why Boone pulled Cole after just one pitch in the fifth inning.
Boone said he sensed Cole was fatigued after the fourth inning, but he wanted Cole to face one more batter. Mullins made it quick with a single on Cole’s 62nd pitch.
“I thought I held up well,” Cole said. “I’m tired now. Certainly a different level. It just demands a higher level of focus and execution. I felt like I definitely could keep making pitches, but it was strategic in the pitch count.”
What about the next time out? Cole, echoing his manager’s competitive disadvantage line, declined to share that information other than to say the pitch count will be “more.”
Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.
Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.
The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.
If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.
Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.
“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”
Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.
“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”
Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.
The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.
In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.
“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”
The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.
Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.
Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.
The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”
Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.
Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.
San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.
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Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — Former White Sox lefty Mark Buehrle was forever immortalized inside Rate Field as the team unveiled a statue in his honor Friday.
Buehrle, 46, played 16 years in the majors, including the first 12 with the White Sox, who he helped win a World Series in 2005. He won 214 games and pitched 200 innings or more in 14 consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2014.
“I can’t put it into words,” Buehrle said after the unveiling. “You don’t play the game for any of this. You never think of number retirements or statues. I can’t even wrap my head around it. It doesn’t make sense.”
The statue is an action shot of him throwing a pitch.
His wife and kids were in attendance and helped pull off the cover to unveil the statue while his 2005 teammates looked on. The event kicked off a weekend reunion for the World Series team which went 11-1 in the postseason, beating the Houston Astros in four games to take home the title.
Buehrle was a five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, finishing fifth in Cy Young voting in 2005.
“Well-deserved,” former right fielder Jermaine Dye said of the statue. “Great teammate. Great leader. Definitely someone you want on a ballclub to lead a pitching staff.”
The White Sox rotation — led by Buehrle — threw four complete games in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox in 2005, missing a fifth complete game by two-thirds of an inning. It’s an unheard of accomplishment in today’s game since starters infrequently go the distance.
Besides being an innings-eater on the mound, Buehrle was a fast worker — a favorite trait of his catcher, A.J Pierzynski. And he wasn’t someone who threw a lot of different pitches. He caught it and threw it without much input from behind the plate.
“He was fast,” Pierzynski said. “We had Jermaine Dye calling pitches from right field some games. We did come crazy things you wouldn’t recommend to people to do nowadays.”
Buehrle is a notoriously low-key guy who hates the spotlight but even he was moved by the team’s decision to honor him with a statue, which joins former slugger Harold Baines in the right-field concourse.
“I joked with him when I saw him,” Dye said. “I told him ‘Man it takes you getting a statue to get you out of the house.'”
Buehrle added: “I was literally nervous as can be today. This is not my comfort zone but by no means am I taking it lightly. This is incredible.”
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