New York Yankees Lose To Tampa Bay Rays In Gerrit Cole’s First Game Back In 569 Days
The Yankees lost to the Rays 4-2 in Gerrit Cole’s first game back for the Yankees in 569 days. Jose Caballero also came off the injured list for this game and started at shortstop. Cole started against Nick Martinez, who is a graduate of Fordham University and has good statistics in his own right. So, this was a good pitching matchup.
It did not work out for Cole in his first few batters, but things got better quickly. Chandler Simpson singled, and then he walked Junior Caminero. Then, Cole got his first out when Jonathan Aranda popped out to Cody Bellinger. Then he picked Simpson off second base, and he struck out Yandy Diaz looking, on a 97 miles per hour fastball. Do you think Cole is still the ace of the Yankees?
Yankees and Rays Game Summary
The Yankees have been counting on Cole coming back, giving them a spark. Maybe he will, he is electric. One thing is for certain: this was a well-pitched game that went quickly. In the fifth inning, Austin Wells hit a home run for the Yankees. They led 1-0. Wells has been terrible this year, so hopefully this home run gets him going.
In the eighth inning, the Rays scored a run to tie the game, which means Cole could not win the game. Then they scored two more runs. It was 3-1. Then the Rays scored on a sacrifice fly. That made it 4-1. The Yankees made three defensive miscues in that inning. In the eighth inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. tripled, and the Yankees made the score 4-2. It is a shame the Yankees made so many mistakes in the top half of the eighth inning.
He’s Back
Cole made his first start for the New York Yankees since the fifth game of the 2024 World Series. It has been 569 days since Cole started a game for the team. He had Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow and missed all of last season, and has been injured so far this year. He has made five rehabilitation starts in the minors this season for the Yankees’ affiliates.
He threw a pitch at 99.6 miles per hour in his last rehabilitation start, so he is ready. When he left injured, he might have been the best pitcher in the world, so his return is most welcome. In this game, he pitched six scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and three walks. He struck out two batters.
It comes as the Yankees need pitching. The injury bug has affected the team. Ace Starting Pitcher Max Fried is injured, though his injury is not as serious as it might have been. There have been some injuries that have affected the Yankees’ bullpen and starting lineup. The completely healthy club in Spring Training has all of a sudden faced injuries recently.
What that means is some of these players are coming back. Not only did Cole make his first start for the team, but Caballero came back and started at shortstop. Now all the Yankees need is to get Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Dominguez back. To accommodate the additions to the roster, the team sent Spencer Jones and Yovanny Cruz to the minor leagues.
A Little Surprising
The Rays are in first place in the American League East. They are 4.5 games ahead of the Yankees. They seemingly win every day, and they have the second-best record in Major League Baseball. This success is even though their poor run differential of +40, though improving, is not as good as the Yankees’ +67. The Rays have also made 32 errors and have the third-worst fielding defense in Major League Baseball. Usually, winning baseball teams play good defense.
More Than One Way To Skin a Cat
One of the other interesting things in this game is the contrasting styles between the two starting pitchers. Cole is a power pitcher who blew batters away while he was out there. That contrasts with Martinez, who does not throw hard at all. He relies on location and on changing speeds. Pitching is like real estate: location, location, location. The most important thing to do in pitching is to change speeds. So, Martinez knows what he is doing.
