It may only be spring training, but the New York Yankees had a lot on the line during Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. After missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery, ace Gerrit Cole returned to the mound for the Yankees.
And he seemed like he was pretty amped up to be back out there.
Advertisement
Cole showed improved velocity in his first inning of work, hitting 98 mph with his fastball twice in the frame. While Cole allowed two hits during the inning, he was able to work around them thanks to a key caught stealing. He finished the inning with 10 pitches, seven of which were strikes.
Though Cole gave up two hits, one of them was a bit flukey. To open the game, Red Sox outfielder Braiden Ward dropped a perfectly-placed bunt up the first base line for a single.
Cole was in hot pursuit of the ball, and slid to the ground to try and make the play, but Ward proved too fast.
Cole may have been a little peeved about the first-pitch bunt, as he immediately tried to pick Ward off first base twice. After two unsuccessful attempts, Ward stole second.
Advertisement
But Ward to a little too greedy on the base paths later in the inning. Following a fly out, Ward was thrown out trying to steal third base. It was a crucial play, as Cole gave up what would have been a run-scoring single to Jason Delay right after Ward’s out. Delay’s hit was far more legitimate, as he smacked a 98 mph fastball from Cole into left field for a single. The ball was scalded off the bat, with a 104.2 mph exit velocity.
Cole needed just one more pitch to get out of the inning, getting Nathan Hickey to ground out on a knuckle curve.
Despite the low workload, Cole was removed from the game after just one inning. He’ll presumably continue to slowly increase his workload ahead of his eventual regular-season return.
Though he was able to return to the mound Wednesday, Cole isn’t expected back until late May or early June this season.
Advertisement
This story will be updated.
Read the full article here
