NEW YORK -- There were 569 days between Gerrit Cole’s appearances on the Yankee Stadium mound, with what he characterized as an “efficient and optimal” rehab from Tommy John surgery providing ample opportunities to experience different roles.
He hung on dugout rails from coast to coast, acting both as fan and teammate. He huddled with pitchers in clubhouses and tunnels, imparting philosophy as an auxiliary coach. Arguably most rewarding of all, he spent a rare summer immersed in household duties as a husband and father.
Still, none of those roles fit quite like this one: Yankees ace. Cole reclaimed his Bronx office on Friday evening with six scoreless innings of two-hit ball in a 4-2 loss to the Rays.
“It was a long road, and yet at some point tonight, it was almost like I’d never left,” Cole said. “It felt really, really good to be out there.”
Cole described the night as “lovely,” and it played out cinematically -- until the ending spoiled the script. José Caballero’s error on a short-hop liner opened the door in a four-run Tampa Bay eighth inning.
“With what we’re going through, you hate losing the game,” said manager Aaron Boone, whose team has lost 10 of 14, falling 5 1/2 games behind the Rays. “We’ve got to find a way to beat that club.”
Still, Cole’s outing dominated the night. As they concluded warm-ups, catcher Austin Wells said he told Cole, “Let’s go sling the rock around and have fun.”
Debuting an over-the-head windup he adopted while playing catch with rehab coordinator Joe Bello -- at first to break up the monotony, then finding he enjoyed the rhythm -- Cole’s first Major League pitch since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series was clocked at 95.9 mph, a called strike to Chandler Simpson.
Having flashed velocity up to 99.6 mph during his six Minor League rehab starts, Cole touched 98.6 mph against Tampa Bay, averaging 96.1 mph with a four-seamer that he relied upon heavily. Cole said his trust in secondary pitches will come later.
He navigated early trouble, picking Simpson off second base, then walked off to handshakes from teammates after striking out Yandy Díaz to end the first.
“Putting the fastest guy in the league on two pitches in, that’s tough,” Cole said. “But we worked on controlling the running game a lot over the last few weeks. It came to fruition in the first and was a huge out for us.”
Cole was helped by Aaron Judge’s terrific second-inning catch that robbed Cedric Mullins of a potential extra-base hit. He needed just 11 pitches to navigate the third and fourth innings, finishing with three walks and two strikeouts in a 72-pitch outing (50 for strikes).
“Solid,” Cole said. “I kept the team in the game, got deep into the game and pitched efficiently. I had some good sequences.”
Though Cole’s pitch count appeared under control, Boone said he sensed the right-hander was “done” after six innings, in part because of the emotional nature of the outing.
Cole said lifting him after the sixth was “a smart play.”
“It may seem easy, but it was a high-pressure, tough game,” Cole said.
Cole’s rehab was largely smooth, a series of checkpoints hit without setback. He had been scheduled to make one more Minor League turn after throwing 86 pitches last time out for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, then arrived at Citi Field the next day with a message: “I’m ready.”
They didn’t argue, and Friday’s outing showed why. Speaking before Cole’s start, Judge said the ace’s return was “a long time coming.”
“I know he’s been itching to get back out there,” Judge said. “He’s been down in this tunnel every single game, helping out our young starters, helping our guys out -- motivating them, talking through different stuff.”
Throughout Cole’s rehab, he frequently ran pitch sequences in his mind before bed, strategizing how he would dissect opposing lineups once his elbow was ready for action. The reality matched the vision.
“It really was a special night,” Cole said. “My boys were excited, and obviously preventing runs at a strong clip puts the cherry on top. Unfortunately we couldn’t close it off, but it’s a good step forward. I’m looking forward to the next one.”