Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole had his best start since rejoining New York’s rotation on Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles (GameTracker) in a battle of the two top teams in the American League East.
Cole threw six innings, holding Baltimore to one run on five hits and one walk. He struck out seven of the 24 batters he faced on 106 pitches. Cole averaged 96.4 on his fastball, and he generated 13 whiffs on 54 swings. That includes five on his aforementioned heater.
Cole, 33, is the reigning American League Cy Young Award recipient. He made his season debut on June 19 after missing the first two-plus months of the year because of nerve inflammation and edema. In his first four outings, he had compiled a 6.75 ERA (62 ERA+) and a 2.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 17 1/3 innings.
Friday’s start represented the first time in 2024 that Cole had worked more than five innings. Additionally, it was just the second time he departed while allowing one run or fewer. The other instance came on June 30 against the Toronto Blue Jays. To be fair, that start lasted just five innings instead of the six he pitched on Friday.
The Yankees led by a 3-1 margin at the time of Cole’s departure. Jose Trevino and Jahmai Jones both drove in a run apiece during the second inning. Star slugger Aaron Judge then launched his 33rd home run of the year in the third inning. Judge came into play leading the majors in home runs, with a then-four homer lead over second-place Shohei Ohtani.
The Yankees entered Friday with a 56-39 record, putting them two games back of the Orioles in the American League East. Both teams have scuffled as of late. The Yankees were 2-7 to begin July; the Orioles, for their part, were 4-5.
