Yankees’ Gerrit Cole finds it ‘hard’ to manage expectations while on pitch count for Subway Series
Gerrit Cole received an immediate gut check upon his return from the 60-day injured list by facing the division rival Orioles last Wednesday.
The adrenaline level is not going anywhere in start No. 2.
Cole will be back on the mound Tuesday at Citi Field as the Yankees and Mets renew acquaintances in the first Subway Series matchup of the season.
“The last one was a very lively environment, so I’m anticipating probably the same,” Cole, who pitched against the Mets in Queens last season, said on Sunday.
The reigning AL Cy Young winner thrives on the competition, but the schedule has not exactly allowed Cole to ease back into the flow of things after missing the first two and a half months of the season with elbow nerve inflammation and edema.
Of course, the Yankees were well aware of the schedule and still decided to bring Cole back before he was fully built up, even if he finds himself having to temper his expectations because he does not yet have a full allotment of pitches at his disposal.
“I think I’m just trying to still build it out,” Cole said. “I’m kind of in the thick of it. Just keep getting built up. I’m not trying to do a whole lot different, really. I’ll obviously try to select pitches I think are going to be successful and try to get competitive outs and as many as I can. But I’m still just — it’s not all the way built up, so it’s hard to have any expectations.”
Having lost seven of their last 10 games — and three straight series — entering Tuesday, the Yankees could surely use a vintage Cole outing to set the tone against the Mets, though he will still be limited in how far he can go.
Cole built up to 70 pitches in his third and final rehab start, but the Yankees scaled that back to a limit of 65 (he finished with 62) in his return against the Orioles to account for the jump in adrenaline that comes with pitching in the major leagues.
Against the Mets on Tuesday, Cole should be in line for somewhere around 75 pitches.
Cole got stronger as the game went on in his season debut against the Orioles while giving up two runs across four-plus innings.
All five of his strikeouts came in a seven-batter stretch that got him through the fourth inning before he allowed a leadoff single in the fifth, which marked the end of his day.
The right-hander mixed in all five of his pitches, leading with his four-seam fastball that averaged 95 mph — down from the 96.7 mph he averaged last season, though he topped out at 97.5 mph on Wednesday, showing the velocity is still there.
More importantly, Cole was pleased with his command in his first start back.
“It’s gonna be a little back and forth in that regard — building up and not having expectations, but getting pitches into areas that we want just to give us a good chance to prevent runs,” he said.
Tuesday had initially lined up to be a showdown between Cole and his former rotation mate, Luis Severino, though the Mets spoiled that by bumping Severino up to start Sunday’s win over the Cubs, in which he lowered his ERA to 3.29.
Cole, who saw Severino as an integral part of the Yankees’ clubhouse over the last few years even as injuries sabotaged his performance, was just happy to see his former teammate healthy and pitching well.
“I just want the best for Luis,” Cole said. “It’s good to see him back pitching. It’s a lot of hard work put in and it’s nice to see it pay off for guys.”
As for the Subway Series, this will mark Cole’s third time pitching in it. The Mets roughed him up in 2021 at Yankee Stadium before Cole tossed six innings of one-run ball against them last season at Citi Field.
“You look across the field and there’s a certain level of respect — similar markets, similar town,” Cole said. “And then obviously they’re good and the atmosphere is turned up.”
