Three things we learned from the return of Yankees ace Gerrit Cole

NEW YORK – For nearly three months, the New York Yankees have trampled expectations without their starter Gerrit Cole. They posted the best record in the major leagues while the American League Cy Young Award winner served as an unofficial assistant coach while recovering from an elbow injury.

But the Yankees know that reaching the ultimate goal — winning the franchise’s 28th World Series title and first since 2009 — will certainly require a healthy Cole on the mound in October.

Cole’s first appearance of the season Wednesday night in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium was an important checkpoint. The results were encouraging: four extra-running runs, two runs on three hits and five strikeouts on one walk. Most importantly, Cole appeared healthy. It was a positive, if brief, step in the right direction.

Here are three things to take away from Cole’s first start of the 2024 season.

1. It’s (almost) ready for prime time

Cole did just three rehab rounds in preparation for Wednesday. Pitch counts: 45, 57, 68. The Yankees were justified in making Cole start again in Triple-A to build more. But they decided Cole was ready enough to use against their main rival in the Middle East. And they were right.

Cole’s average fastball velocity was down 1.6 mph from last season, and he gave up some hard contact and had trouble throwing away some hits, but he was very sharp given the conditions. The right-hander threw 62 pitches, 40 of them for strikes. He generated six whiffs and 13 strikeouts, with complete control over his five-pitch arsenal.

“I thought the location was good,” Cole said. “And I felt like the pitches were crisp. I think I got a swing and a miss on every pitch. Consistency probably has to advance as well with the number of pitches. I threw a couple of wonky sliders, but I made a great pass in the big spot.”

Not surprisingly, it took Cole some time to find his groove. He started his season with some loud calls. Gunnar Henderson led off the game with a 109.1 mph hopper single that bounced off the glove of second baseman Gleyber Torres into right field for a double. Two batters later, Ryan O’Hearn launched an 0-2 slider for an RBI ground-rule double at 102.3 mph.

From there, Cole settled down, retiring nine of the next 10 hitters he faced. The team retired the second inning on just seven pitches. He walked Henderson in the third inning — and watched Henderson steal second base — but recorded his first three hits of the season and left Henderson stranded. The Orioles were down the order on 16 runs in the fourth inning.

“I thought he got better as the game went on,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

The Orioles hit six pitches at at least 101.5 mph, but the costly damage was limited to those two doubles in the first inning and Cedric Mullins’ single in the fifth. That allowed Cole to average just over 15 runs per inning, an economical output on a night when he needed to be economical to avoid over-pressuring the bullpen before Thursday’s rubber game.

Cole came out to a standing ovation in the fifth inning, with Mullens on base and the game tied at one. Reliever Ron Marinaccio immediately surrendered a two-run home run to Ramon Urias. The Yankees were rallying to tie the game late in the game, so Cole didn’t factor into the decision. It wasn’t a classic Cole performance, but it was never on the list.

“It was great,” Cole said of his return. “It was a special game for me, in a way. It’s been a long few months and a lot of emotions. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel out there, but locating the ball calms the nerves.” a little.”

2. He wasn’t happy with the way it ended

Cole left the game angry with himself because he threw a high fastball to Mullins to start the fifth inning and end his outing. He explained that this was why he looked so frustrated when he left the game, not because he wanted to stay in the game any longer.

Cole remembers throwing a fastball away to Mullens in their first encounter that produced a lineout to center field. He was not happy with the position his next time out against the veteran midfielder.

“He’s ready for it,” Cole said of Mullins. “I had about 30 at-bats against him. He took a good swing on it and got up the middle and it was probably just a little cat-and-mouse frustration. Cedric got me back into a high fastball.”

Mullens is now 9-for-26 with two doubles and a home run in 27 career plate appearances against Cole.

3. There is “more” to come…but how mysterious it is

He plays

Gerrit Cole’s son was thrilled after seeing his father from the stands

Yankees outfielder Gerrit Cole gives a nod toward the stands to his son Caden, who was very happy to see his father in the dugout.

Before the game, Boone declined to reveal Cole’s throw count, asserting that sharing the information would create a competitive disadvantage. It turned out the number was 65, which is why Boone pulled Cole after just one pitch in the fifth inning.

Boone said he felt Cole was tired after the fourth inning, but he wanted Cole to take another hit. Mullins quickly grounded it with a single on Cole’s 62nd pitch.

“I thought I held up pretty well,” Cole said. “I’m tired now. Definitely a different level. It just takes a higher level of focus and execution. I felt like I could definitely keep putting in shows, but it was more strategic in the number of shows.”

What about next time? Cole, echoing his manager’s competitive disadvantage streak, declined to share that information other than to say the number of courts would be “more.”