Gerrit Cole pushed his start back two days after leaving his last outing with left hamstring tightness. Prior to Tuesday’s series opener in Baltimore, manager Aaron Boone said he expected a typical “Gerrit Cole start.”
In the Yankees’ 7-2 win, Cole did just that. He fanned seven while allowing one run, four hits and three walks. Though he only tossed five innings, it was enough to earn him his 15th win of the season.
The Yankees’ ace is one of three pitchers with as many wins this season — joining Julio Urías (17) and Adam Wainwright (16).
The Yankees closed the gap in the AL Wild Card race with the win, as the Blue Jays were shut out by the Rays earlier in the evening. It created a tie between New York (81-64) and Toronto (81-64), with Boston (81-65) a half-game back; the Yanks and Jays await the results of the Red Sox-Mariners tilt in Seattle.
Behind Cole, the Yankees continued to rake, with home runs accounting for all of the offense. Aaron Judge smacked his fourth home run in four games during the first inning, giving Cole a comfortable 2-0 lead before even taking the mound.
Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit went back-to-back in the third frame, adding three insurance runs for New York. Joey Gallo wanted in on the big fly fun, so he sent a ball sailing 402 feet to right-center field in the eighth. And one more for good measure came from DJ LeMahieu in the ninth. He recorded the fifth homer of the game, tying the Yanks’ most in a single game this season (April 30).
New York combined for a multi-homer game for the sixth straight contest — the longest streak since an eight-game stretch from July 26-Aug. 5, 2020.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].