The New York Yankees have been looking forward to when Gerrit Cole finds his groove back. That would push the team in the right direction before they get to the playoffs. Moreover, this year has not been very smooth for the ace pitcher of the NY side. Fans were expecting the reigning American League Cy Young winner to continue his excellent form. However, in the spring training, the ace hurt his right elbow badly. It was a big blow for the Bronx Bombers that came almost two weeks before the start of the current regular season.
Later, the Yankees put Cole on the 60-day Injured List. Hence, they had to replace the ace with a rookie starter, Luis Gil. Needless to say, Gil did a great job, as he was even the best pitcher for the NY side in the first half of the season. But then, the Pinstripes were missing their ace, as without the 2023 AL Cy Young winner, their chances to make the ‘Big Dance’ went from slim to none. Lately, Gerrit Cole had his much-needed scoreless outing.
Gerrit Cole Enjoys His First Scoreless Outing Of 2024 In Detroit
Since the July 30 MLB Trade Deadline, the fans in the Bronx seemed naturally concerned with the ace pitcher’s progress. On July 30, the Yankees scratched Gerrit Cole from his start owing to “General body fatigue,” as the team reported. Clearly, Brian Cashman made no move ahead of the trade deadline, which came even a little closer to the impact of a “Healthy” Cole. When the ace is healthy, his impact on the team will be immense going down the stretch, especially into October. For that, the 2023 AL Cy Young winner needs to rediscover his groove. It kind of took three starts for Gerrit Cole to get really close to finding his form. On Friday, at Comerica Park, Cole enjoyed his first scoreless game of the season. He pitched six shutout innings to help the Yankees win 3-0 over the Detroit Tigers.
According to the New York Post’s Greg Joyce, Aaron Judge commented on Cole’s performance in a post-game interview. The Yankees captain mentioned that Gerrit Cole was really impressive. Judge felt that from the very first inning, Cole had command over his fastball. Then, he noticed that the ace pitcher’s velocity was rising up as well. Moreover, the home run leader of the season added that in the last couple of outings, Cole’s curveball and slider have been razor sharp. Hence, Judge feels the ace was really impressive on Friday. Finally, the California native mentioned, “When Cole is looking like that, I wish him to go all nine innings.”
The Yankees Ace Is Happy With His Progress
After Friday’s game, the New York Post quoted Gerrit Cole, saying in an interview, “Today was good, and also the last few outings have been pretty good too.” The ace pitcher was happy that he was able to dial his pitches back and push that up. He said being able to locate at both ends of the spectrum was a good sign for sure. But Aaron Boone, the manager, mentioned that Cole recorded a “Pretty strict” pitch count. On Friday, the 2023 AL Cy Young winner struck out eight times and allowed only six base runners.
After missing almost first three months of the season due to nerve inflammation in his right elbow, Cole so far had 10 starts. His Friday’s start marked the only third time of those 10 outings when he could complete six innings. Boone scratched Cole against the Philadelphia Phillies. Since then, Gerrit Cole has a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings, along with 22 strikeouts. With Friday’s win, Cole helped the Yankees get back to the number one spot in the AL East division.
Stay tuned to Sports News International for more such updates about your favorite MLB team.
