7 K's, 6 zeros, a pass interference call: Cole's latest outing had it all

CHICAGO -- Gerrit Cole’s evening began with a tongue-in-cheek call of pass interference and a smattering of verbal fireworks directed toward the umpiring crew. It concluded with high fives throughout the Yankees’ dugout.

Cole struck out seven over six scoreless innings on Tuesday, continuing to pick up momentum in his return from Tommy John surgery in a 3-2 victory over the White Sox at Rate Field. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said his ace seems to have “his competitive sea legs” under him now, and Cole agrees.

“My instincts are sharper, my reads are better,” Cole said. “I’m in the flow of things. I’m getting pitch ideas or pitch locations that are proving to be the right ones. That comes with sharpening up all facets of the game, and our catchers have been great. They deserve a lot of credit for the run prevention.”

Backed by Anthony Volpe’s deep RBI double and Max Schuemann’s two-run knock, Cole made the early support hold up for New York’s seventh victory in 11 games since the All-Star break. That includes the most replayable moment of his outing -- Colson Montgomery’s second-inning popup to the mound.

Cole and catcher Austin Wells converged upon the ball, but Cole’s call of, “I got it!” didn’t prevent Wells from stepping on the pitcher’s foot. Cole fumbled the ball at first, flipping it into the air with his glove before snagging it in his bare right hand.

“It was a tough sky tonight, no doubt,” Cole said. “I was just aggressive to the ball. I didn’t feel [third baseman Amed] Rosario on me, and I didn’t feel Wells on me until late. I figured I could make the play. I started to work back into the ball after I called it, and Austin stepped on my foot.”

With the out recorded, Cole mimicked a football referee, jokingly flagging Wells for pass interference.

“I thought I was cooked,” Cole said with a grin. “I thought I was going down, but luckily I made some juggling act and saved it.”

The sequence shifted when Cole was called for a pitch-timer violation; Cole was asking to use one of New York's mound visits, but Boone said Wells “didn’t go assertively enough; he was asking, as opposed to, 'Let’s just get out there.'”

That prompted a lengthy discussion at home plate, and after the inning concluded, television replays caught Cole barking toward home-plate umpire Roberto Ortiz. Cole seemed in a cooler frame of mind after the game.

“We tried to call a mound visit around two or three seconds. It wasn’t granted,” Cole said. “Ultimately, it was our mistake that we didn’t play with more pace there.”

The outburst had little effect on Cole’s performance. He hit bumpy ground in the fourth, when he threw 32 pitches -- his highest total in any start this year. Munetaka Murakami opened with a double, and Cole walked Miguel Vargas on five pitches before retiring the next two hitters.

Braden Montgomery then walked on six pitches, but Cole got Tristan Peters to lift an inning-ending popup to Rosario. As Boone put it, Cole “didn’t break -- he just made some pitches and righted the ship.”

“Maybe I got a little fortunate,” Cole said. “I ended up making just enough good pitches to get out of it.”

It was the third scoreless start of Cole’s season, and his first since back-to-back scoreless outings on May 22 and May 27 against the Rays and Royals, respectively -- his first starts since being activated from the injured list.

“I think it’s just a testament to the work he puts in, and just the person he is,” Volpe said. “It’s fun to watch, and it’s fun for me to see every progression of it, from the beginning of this year until now. I think we’re all just going to keep getting better.”

Anthony Kay held the Yankees down after the second inning, but New York’s bullpen answered the call again. Angel Chivilli continued to impress with a perfect eight-pitch seventh, and Brent Headrick worked around an eighth-inning single.

Working for the fourth time in five days, David Bednar surrendered Chase Meidroth’s two-run homer in the ninth, snapping his 24-inning scoreless streak that dated to May 22. But Bednar got the job done, striking out Everson Pereira to notch his 22nd save.

“He’s been awesome,” Boone said of Bednar. “You talk about command, he’s had that. It feels like he’s been pretty much ahead of everyone.”