A huge boost to the New York Yankees commenced Wednesday as star pitcher Gerrit Cole made his season debut after missing the last two and a half months due to right elbow discomfort. Despite the extra innings loss to the Baltimore Orioles, 7-6, the Yankees ace and manager Aaron Boone talk about the former Cy Young winner's outing and how he feels going in to the rest of the season.
It has been a long time since Cole pitched at a major league level as his last outing was on last Sept. 27 against the Toronto Blue Jays and even that game showed off his skills by throwing a shut out. After Wednesday's game however, he described it as a “special” performance as he has been awaiting the moment he returns to the mound after months of waiting patiently according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
“It was kind of a special game for me a little bit,” Cole said about Wednesday’s outing. “It has been a long few months, a lot of emotions. I wasn’t too sure how I was going to feel out there, but locating the ball quells the nerves a little bit.”
In the outing against the Orioles, he threw four innings while striking out five batters, and allowed two earned runs, three hits, and a walk. It was an impressive return despite having been named the Opening Day starter back before the season, but it of course had to be delayed because of the elbow injury.
Boone speaks on Cole's return outing for the Yankees
There is no doubt that as Cole sees more action in games, his workload will come back to being normal for New York's ace and perform at a high level, even if his comeback outing was not stellar. Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke after the game about Cole's performance and said he “thought he threw the ball well.”
“I thought Gerrit was good, I thought he got better as he went,” Boone said. “I thought he was under control and I thought as the outing went on, he got a little bit better, and had a little bit of everything. Got a strikeout with the breaking ball, flashed a good slider for a strikeout. I thought the cutter was a good pitch for him all night. Reached back for some heaters that he executed as well. So all in all, I thought he threw the ball well.”
“I thought he did a good job in the third inning with that runner on second and you are kind of [facing] the meat of the order,” Boone continued. “He kind of slowed the game down really well, he was really under control, he started to get the strikeout ball a little there.”
Cole on what needs to be improved on, plus what worked
There was a feeling from Boone that Cole started to get tired by the fourth inning which the endurance will no doubt get better as he logs more innings. Still, the 33-year old found a lot to like with his start as he thought his location and slider were up to his standards, but acknowledges there is still stuff to work on.
“For the most part, the location was good. I felt like the pitches were crisp,” Cole said. “The consistency probably has to progress as well with the pitch count. There might be give and take as we keep going. We threw a great slider in a big spot. That’s encouraging.
“For the most part, I made some good pitches when we needed to make some pitches,” Cole continued. “There was a fair amount of adrenaline, which is nice to have. A few too many high fastballs, but for the most part, it was a good jolt.”
Cole getting more work as the season goes on for New York
It will be interesting to see the progression from Cole as even Boone revealed what would be a pitch count limit for the star heading into Wednesday's game which was at 65 according to ESPN. For what the limit will be in the next one, Boone or Cole would not reveal any number, except for saying it will no doubt be “more.”
“I'm tired now,” Cole said. “Certainly a different level. It just demands a higher level of focus and execution. I definitely felt I could keep making pitches, but it was strategic in the pitch count. And, certainly, in that regard we executed that perfectly.”
At any rate, the Yankees pitching had been stellar this season as they have a MLB-low 3.41 runs per game allowed. It also has shown in their record as New York has the best in the majors as they are 51-25 with their next game Thursday evening when they face the Orioles in the final game of the series, looking for a win.
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