Gerrit Cole didn't mince words after the New York Yankees extended their losing streak to seven games Saturday afternoon. Gerrit Cole gave up six runs in four innings, taking the loss in the Boston Red Sox' 8-1 drubbing of the Yankees in the Bronx. The ace admitted that New York's struggles are a first for his decade-long career.

“It's tough,” Cole said when asked to describe what the Yankees are currently going through. “I don't recall experiencing anything like this before in my career. How you handle adversity and how you get it through it is really ultimately how you'll be judged.”

Since making his MLB debut in 2013, Cole has only missed the playoffs twice. The 2016 and 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates finished with losing records, but those teams didn't have the same expectations as the 2023 Yankees. Cole is part of one of the most expensive rosters in MLB history. Coming off a third trip to the ALCS in six seasons, New York was supposed to contend for a championship.

Instead, the Yankees are virtually out of contention with almost two weeks left in August. New York has a 60-63 record, putting it comfortably in last place in the AL East. The Yankees are 7.5 games out of the final AL wild-card spot.

“I'm not looking at the end of the tunnel,” Cole said when asked if he could see light at the end of the tunnel for the team. “I'm trying to look for tomorrow. We gotta figure out how to win tomorrow. That's really our only objective.”

The Yankees' offense has been lackluster for most of the year, and it's only gotten worse with four total runs in the last four games. Cole has been the only consistent member of the rotation, which has fallen apart as the season has progressed.