Gerrit Cole put in a solid performance on his return

Pascal Harvey
Gerrit Cole put in a solid performance on his return
Credit: MLB.com

After 569 days on the sidelines, Gerrit Cole made his long-awaited return to the mound yesterday against the Rays at Yankee Stadium.

The outcome wasn't what we'd hoped for, as the Rays won the game 4-2. But Cole made a strong impression by holding his opponents scoreless for six innings in his return.

The Yankees' ace allowed two hits and three walks to the Rays' batters, while striking out two of them. A much-anticipated and successful return for the right-hander.

This matchup, pitting two teams separated by four and a half games in the American League East standings, could have allowed the Yankees to close the gap in the race for first place, but they find themselves, this morning, one game further behind.

Aaron Boone's men aren't playing great baseball these days, and the Rays are taking full advantage, having won their fifth straight game.

At least New York fans will have a top-tier starter to look forward to, as the team has been without Max Fried for the past few days.

Even though Boone's squad was energized by the return of its ace following Tommy John surgery, it couldn't withstand the visitors' winning surge, who scored all their runs early in the eighth inning, walking away with their 34th win of the season.

Catcher Austin Wells, who is batting .169 in 2026, had given his team the lead by blasting his fourth home run of the season in the fifth inning, but the Rays turned the tide late in the game.

José Caballero certainly didn't have a good night, as he opened the door for the Rays with an error early in the eighth inning. Sensing the home team's disarray, Kevin Cash's men capitalized on the Yankees shortstop's blunder, and the damage was done.

That disastrous half-inning overshadowed Cole's strong performance, but let's just say he dispelled any doubts with a very respectable outing.

At this rate, one has to wonder if the Yankees will be able to close the gap on the Rays at the top of their division. The Florida team is surprising many people, while the Yankees, on the other hand, have been disappointing lately due to inconsistent play. It's true that injuries on the mound aren't helping their cause, but every team faces this harsh reality.

There's still plenty of baseball left to play, and we're in for a great race between the two teams. The Yankees will have a chance to bounce back this afternoon when left-hander Ryan Weathers takes the mound against Drew Rasmussen for the Rays.

It's worth noting that Cole's first pitch yesterday—his first since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series—was clocked at 95.9 mph. Not bad for a guy coming off elbow surgery.

PMLB
  • Blue Jays win.
  • Chris Taylor retires.
  • 37.2 scoreless innings for Cristopher Sánchez.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.

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