'You’ve got to tip your cap': Cole's brilliance can't quite measure up

ST. PETERSBURG – You’ll often hear pitchers lament that they “only made one mistake,” and often what that actually means is they only made one mistake that they ended up paying for. For Gerrit Cole on Saturday, though, it’s hard to point to more than one mistake.

Unfortunately for Cole and the Yankees, he did pay for it.

Overall, Cole was brilliant in his first postseason start since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He made the choice to start him look like exactly the right call, but a Jonathan Aranda solo homer and a spectacular showing by Rays starter Drew Rasmussen added up to a 1-0 New York loss to Tampa Bay in Game 1 of their American League Division Series.

Looking every bit the No. 1 starter he has been throughout his career, Cole turned in exactly the kind of performance manager Aaron Boone was surely looking for when he called on the veteran to open the series at Tropicana Field. His stuff was sharp and his location consistently strong in his most effective outing in six weeks.

Still, there was little solace in the showing, given the result of the game.

“It’s a bit of a tough one,” said Cole. “[Drew] Rasmussen had a historic night. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap.”

Cole found himself in a bit of trouble in the first, working around a single and a walk and escaping when Chandler Simpson took a perfectly located fastball for strike three. Cole allowed a two-out double in the second but still kept the game scoreless.

In the third, Cole made that one mistake, and it was not a big one. On a 2-2 count, Cole was trying to bury a changeup low and away to Aranda. He got the away part, putting the ball on the black. He almost got the low part, but it was up in the zone just a little bit. Aranda crushed it for the game's only run, and Cole locked in after that.

“Obviously it comes down to us losing the game on that pitch; that’s tough,” said catcher Austin Wells. “But I would throw that pitch again probably 10 more times, and I think we’d end up with a good result. So that’s why you say you just tip your cap. Great swing, and that’s just how it goes. That’s baseball.”

Despite the loss, Cole’s performance made the decision to start him over Carlos Rodón – a decision that drew quite a bit of scrutiny – look very correct. Cole lasted only five innings, but that was reflective as much of a fully rested bullpen and a Sunday off-day as anything about his performance.

“It felt like it was leverage the whole game,” said Boone. “And he executed some really good pitches against some of their best hitters in the right spots. So I thought he threw the ball really well. When Gerrit goes to the mound, he’s capable of anything. I thought he got us off to a good start tonight. They made him work. And then our bullpen picked it up from there.”

Cole very much wanted to stay in the game beyond five, but he said that he came out of his conversation with Boone before he was removed “on the same page.” He ended his game on a high, though.

Facing MVP candidate Junior Caminero in the bottom of the fifth, Cole got ahead 0-2 on a slider and a knuckle curve. Caminero worked the count full, then fouled off four consecutive 3-2 pitches. Finally Cole landed a knuckle curve at the top of the zone, Caminero watched it, and Cole had won the battle. He gave a fist pump and walked off the mound with a job well done.

“That was a lot of fun, yeah,” Cole said. “I mean, [Rasmussen] was unbelievable.”