Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees Game Summary

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s understandable to think that Gerrit Cole and his newly healed elbow will eventually give up some runs. That just hasn’t happened yet, not since he made his return to the majors following Tommy John surgery and started his first couple of games.

On Wednesday night against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Cole delivered an impressive show, striking out 10 batters over six scoreless innings and contributing to the Yankees’ 7-0 victory, which completed a series sweep.

Manager Aaron Boone summed it up nicely, saying, “I feel like the first game was probably a little appetizer and then that was the main course.” It’s worth noting, it was indeed a surgery he recovered from.

The 35-year-old right-hander faced only minimal challenges, allowing just four hits and not issuing any walks as he consistently attacked the strike zone. In his season debut against the Rays, he pitched six scoreless innings, and on this occasion, he was somewhat limited—thrown only 79 pitches as the Yankees took precautions.

Yet he made those pitches count, showcasing a fastball that reached 98 mph in the fifth inning, which resulted in another strikeout.

As the Yankees position themselves for a strong offseason, Cole reflected, “I think things are going well,” while relaxing in the clubhouse after the upbeat vibes from a warm-up song. “We definitely still have some things to work on going forward. But given what we got tonight, I think we took advantage of it very well.”

Cole and the Yankees (34-22) recognize the road ahead as the former Cy Young Award winner works on pitching regularly every five to six days. Even so, his performance has offered a glimpse of how he might elevate an already robust rotation.

Aaron Judge commended Cole, stating, “He’s one of the greatest players of all time, and you can see that with a start like this. Coming back from major surgery, he doesn’t look like he’s resting for a second,” especially noting how he maintained the shutout in the third inning.

On the offensive side, Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice, and Ryan McMahon stepped up, each clocking in two hits and contributing to a combined six points during the Yankees’ successful streak against the Royals (22-34). This victory included a remarkable tally of 50-10 for the completed season series.

Rice kicked off the scoring with an RBI triple in the fourth inning and later crossed home plate on Judge’s sacrifice fly. He also launched a two-run homer in the seventh, quickly followed by McMahon’s similar success in the eighth.

Despite managing only two strikeouts in his initial game, Cole quickly found his rhythm, accumulating more strikeouts as the game progressed. In an encouraging turn, he only faced a three-ball count on two occasions, a stark contrast from his three walks against the Rays.

His first bump came in the fourth inning against Bobby Witt Jr., who successfully reached second base. Another notable encounter was with Carter Jensen, who got the last at-bat in the seventh but was dealt the same fate after a full count was reached.

“I think it was when I first started pitching in the rehab process,” Cole reflected. “I was able to hit the four-seam better than I have in years, so that was definitely an encouraging sign. Other than that, it’s just two games—it’s a small sample,” he added, acknowledging that there’s still room for improvement.

Wednesday’s win inspired some optimism about what the Yankees’ rotation could achieve moving forward. The trio of Cole, Cam Schlitter, and Will Warren collectively allowed only three runs over 18⅓ innings in this series.

As for the upcoming games, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Weathers are set to start against the Athletics this weekend, and the team is also hopeful about having Max Fried back in the mix this summer.

And the question remains: what if Cole could sustain this level of performance?

Boone noted, “We just thought we were looking at something great. I don’t want to exaggerate or underestimate it. It was just a great, efficient, surgical outing. I thought he was doing everything a little bit.”