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 evening, scattering four hits with two walks -- another solid effort from the veteran right-hander in the Yankees’ 3-2 win over the White Sox at Rate Field.
The most replayable moment of Cole’s start came in the second inning, when Colson Montgomery popped a ball toward the mound. Cole and catcher Austin Wells converged upon it, and Cole called him off, snagging the ball with his bare right hand after flipping it into the air with his glove.
Cole then mimicked a football referee, jokingly calling Wells for pass interference, but the episode shifted when Cole was called for a pitch-timer violation. That prompted a lengthy discussion at home plate, and after the inning concluded, television replays caught Cole barking toward home-plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.
The bumpiest part of Cole’s outing came 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 before retiring the next two hitters.
Braden Montgomery then walked, but Cole got Tristan Peters to lift an inning-ending popup to third baseman Amed Rosario.
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 returning from Tommy John surgery.