NEW YORK -- Gerrit Cole was ready from the word “go” on Wednesday afternoon, running out to the mound to kick off Game 1 of the split doubleheader at Yankee Stadium before members of the Pirates’ bullpen had even left the outfield grass.
After coming up on the short end of the stick against the Dodgers in his previous start on Friday -- his stellar outing abruptly ended with a Max Muncy two-run home run -- Cole was dealing early on against the Pirates. The right-hander retired the first 14 batters that he faced, racking up eight strikeouts during that stretch against the club that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2011.
However, Cole’s perfect-game bid ended after third baseman Nick Gonzales hooked a knuckle curve through the left side of the infield for a line-drive single. The next batter, shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, jumped on a down-the-middle changeup, crushing a two-run home run into the right-field seats. In a flash, lightning struck twice for Cole, with another blip interrupting a dominant showing.
Cole then allowed a home run to Gonzales in the seventh inning, a solo shot to give the Pirates a three-run lead. Cole finished the afternoon with a quality start in the Yankees' 5-3 loss in 10 innings, tossing seven frames while notching 11 strikeouts and giving up four hits, walking none. It was the second time that Cole amassed double-digit strikeouts this season, the first time since a 10-strikeout showing on May 27 at Kansas City. It was also his 29th double-digit strikeout game as a member of the Yankees, extending his franchise-record mark.
Cole leaned heavily on his four-seam fastball against the Pirates, tossing it 51% of the time. But it was a concerted effort to use each of his secondary pitches equally -- he threw the slider and knuckle curve 15% of the time and his changeup 18% of the time -- which kept Pittsburgh’s offense off-balance. He generated 21 swings and misses, his most in a single game since Aug. 10, 2024.
The saving grace for Cole’s start was Ben Rice’s three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh -- his 30th homer of the season, which has him fourth in the Majors -- tying the game at 3 and erasing a tough day in clutch situations. Prior to Rice’s second-deck blast, the Yankees were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, having left seven runners on base to that point.