Gerrit Cole's honest admission serves as warning for AL playoff teams

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole got off to a slow start this season. The reigning American League Cy Young winner had his 2024 debut pushed back to June 19 as he recovered from inflammation in his right elbow that first became an issue during spring training.

Since then, Cole’s performance for the Yankees has been uneven. At times, he’s looked like the dominant six-time All-Star with two ERA titles under his belt who hitters have come to fear facing. At other times, he’s struggled to get outs.

On Friday against the Oakland Athletics, Cole looked like one of the best starting pitchers in the league. “I didn’t fatigue tonight, which is a good sign… I had more in the tank, which is also a good sign. That allowed us to execute pitches well into the night,” Cole said via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.

The 12-year veteran was brilliant against the A’s. He pitched nine innings – easily the deepest he’s gone in a game this season – and allowed one run on two hits, striking out seven and issuing just one walk.

“I hadn’t pitched in the seventh, eighth or ninth yet. That felt really good, and so it was nice to see it come together,” Cole said per Hoch.

Yankees hope ace Gerrit Cole has returned to form heading into the postseason

Cole's effort impressed Yankees manager Aaron Boone on a night when scoring was at a premium. “I’m just proud of him. He obviously put us in a position to win a game where we were struggling to get much offense going for most of it. He kept us right there,” he said via Hoch.

The 33-year-old righty was coming off of a forgettable outing against the Boston Red Sox last Saturday in which he allowed seven earned runs in just 4.1 innings.

Cole had been dealing in that game, cruising through Boston’s lineup before controversially issuing an intentional walk to Red Sox star Rafael Devers with no one on and no one out in the fourth. The free pass backfired, turning a 1-0 Yankees lead in the top of the fourth inning into a 7-1 deficit with one out in the top of the fifth.

Aaron Boone attempted to explain the reasoning behind putting Devers on in that situation, but regardless of the thinking, the decision led to an ugly loss for New York. Fortunately, Cole bounced back in a major way against Oakland. The Yankees hope it’s a sign that their top-of-the-rotation ace has returned to form just in time for the postseason.

Cole is now 7-5 with a 3.67 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 9.6 K/9 and an ERA+ of 111 in 16 starts for the Yankees. New York has a four-game lead over the second-place Baltimore Orioles in the AL East with eight games remaining in the regular season.

The team has clinched a playoff berth but will look to lock up the division with a three-game series against the Orioles starting Tuesday in the Bronx.