Gerrit Cole has not enjoyed an injury-free 2024 season. Following an elbow injury in Spring Training, he had to wait until June to make his season debut for the New York Yankees. Therefore, it was concerning for Yankees fans to witness their veteran ace potentially getting another significant injury. During their 8-4 victory against the Texas Rangers, Cole had to abruptly exit the game before the bottom of the seventh inning began.
Fortunately, the injury Cole suffered was not to his arm, elbow, or shoulder. As indicated by Yankees analyst David Cone during the broadcast, the 33-year-old had to leave the game due to cramps. According to Gary Phillips of New York Daily News, the veteran starter isn’t overly worried about it.
Cole mentioned that he first felt cramps in his right leg after a warm-up pitch before the start of the seventh inning. However, he doesn’t feel any discomfort when moving around casually.
“I jogged out there and didn’t feel it, I don’t feel it walking or moving around or anything,” Cole stated.
The Yankees made a cautious decision to pull Gerrit Cole after six innings to prevent any further complications. They did not want to risk aggravating an injury that typically does not have lasting effects.
“I tried a couple of things to get it to stop, and it didn’t stop. So it didn’t seem like it was going to go away,” Cole added.
This sentiment was also shared by Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who believed that Cole did not appear to be suffering from any significant effects due to the cramps.
“I know he seemed pretty good right now when we came in. Hopefully that’s the case,” Boone mentioned.
Gerrit Cole delivers one of his top performances of the season for the Yankees
Returning to form after a lengthy absence due to injury can be challenging. While Gerrit Cole is a top-tier starting pitcher, he needed some time to find his rhythm in 2024. With the AL East division title still within reach and roughly a month remaining in the regular season, now is the ideal time for Cole to hit his stride.
In his recent start for the Yankees against the Rangers, Cole produced one of his finest performances of the season. In six innings, he only gave up one earned run on five baserunners, recording nine strikeouts – the second-highest total of the season. Interestingly, his highest strikeout count this season also came against the Rangers when he struck out 10 batters on August 10.
Cole specifically felt that his four-seam fastball was much sharper during this game compared to his previous start against the Washington Nationals. Against the Rangers, Cole’s fastball generated 10 swings and misses, a very encouraging sign.
“I thought it was really good. Thought we were mixing locations good and controlling the velo on it well and getting to really good areas,” Cole commented.
With this victory over the Rangers, the Yankees have momentarily reclaimed the division lead from the Baltimore Orioles.
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