DETROIT – Detroit put the leadoff runner on in each of the first five innings Monday night at Comerica Park, and Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole quickly shut the door in the first and second.
However, the Tigers scored in each of the next three innings as Cole allowed a season-high five runs in 4 1/3 innings during the Yankees’ 5-3 loss. Cole allowed nine hits -- including a Statcast-projected 422-foot, 107.5 mph solo homer by Riley Greene off a 2-2 changeup that caught too much of the plate in the fifth.
“I don’t know,” said Cole. “I sure made a handful of mistakes there. … But they hit a good amount of good pitches. But we just weren’t able to respond with the type of quality pitches to get out of those situations from the extra pressure they put on us.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “I thought stuff-wise, it was all right. And he had some swing and miss going, you know, had some strikeouts. They didn’t miss, though. When he missed or was a little off with the fastball, they were able to square it up. I thought he had a good slider going, but in some situations he didn’t quite get that down enough to get swing and miss or weak contact.
“They pressured him with a lot of good at-bats. Even early in the first couple innings, he held them off the scoreboard, but they were able to get the leadoff runner on and pressure him and make him work pretty hard. They put some good swings on some pitches they got in a little bit of the heart [of the plate], and they’ve got a chance.”
Cole, who entered the game 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in five starts since returning from the IL, was pitching on extra rest after having his scheduled start pushed back from Sunday. He walked one and struck out five while his ERA rose to 3.62.
The former American League Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star didn’t allow a run in his first two starts (May 22 and 27), covering 12 2/3 innings. However, he allowed four against the Guardians and two in each of the next two starts before having his poorest showing of the season.
“The opposition is going to put pressure on you sometimes,” said Cole. “And the reality is, it’s not the try-hard league. It’s the get-it-done league, and we just didn’t get it done tonight.”
Boone didn’t necessarily feel Cole – returning from Tommy John surgery after missing the second half of 2024 and all of ‘25 – needs to pitch himself back into form.
“I think overall, he’s pitching very much in line with who Gerrit Cole has been throughout his career,” Boone said. “I think he looks good. The stuff’s there. It always comes down to how good you execute time in and time out, and for the most part he’s been very good.
“They took advantage of some pitches that probably leaked into the heart of the plate on him today and put up some points on him.”
As for any problems related to coming back from Tommy John, Cole added, “I don’t think it has anything to do with that.”
Cole was relieved by Paul Blackburn while trailing 5-1.
No. 9 hitter Zach McKinstry (batting .177) rifled a triple that rolled to the wall in left-center to start the third. Kevin McGonigle brought him home with a groundout to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was playing back on the infield, tying the score at 1-1.
Cole then struck out catcher Dillon Dingler, who leads Detroit with 55 RBIs (more than any Yankee). But a two-out infield single by Kerry Carpenter was followed by a walk to cleanup hitter Greene.
Back-to-back run-scoring singles by Spencer Torkelson (now 4-for-11 in his career off Cole) and Colt Keith made it a three-run third inning. Pitching coach Matt Blake visited the mound between those hits, and Cole got ahead of Keith with an 0-2 count before he lined a pitch to right.
Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee singled to open the fourth and raced home on a one-out double by McGonigle.
Yankees third baseman Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer, his seventh, off reliever Drew Anderson in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to two runs, but a strong start by left-hander Framber Valdez couldn’t be overcome. He provided Detroit a margin for error in the bullpen.
New York has lost three consecutive games for the first time since May 20-22.