Gerrit Cole’s confidence immediately returned after he returned from the 60-day disabled list last Wednesday against the division-rival Orioles.
The adrenaline level doesn’t drop even after the second start.
Cole is scheduled to take the mound again on Tuesday at Citi Field when the Yankees and Mets meet in the season’s first Subway Series reunion.
“The last game was a really lively atmosphere, so I expect it will probably be the same,” Cole, who pitched against the Mets in Queens last season, said Sunday.
Cole, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, thrives on competition, but his schedule has made it difficult for him to get back into the swing of things after missing the first 2 1/2 months of the season with nerve inflammation and swelling in his elbow.
Of course, the Yankees were well aware of the schedule and decided to bring Cole back before he was fully healthy, even if it meant tempering expectations because he hadn’t yet been given enough innings.
“I guess I’m just trying to get myself ready,” Cole said. “I’m still in the middle of it. Just continuing to get myself ready. I’m not really trying to do too much differently, really. Obviously I’m going to pick pitches that I think will be successful and try to compete for as many outs as I can. But I’m not fully ready yet, so it’s hard to get my hopes up.”
The Yankees had lost seven of their last 10 games and three straight series before Tuesday, and they will undoubtedly need a good old-fashioned Cole to get going against the Mets, though there will likely be limitations to how much he can do.
Cole threw 70 pitches in his third and final rehab start, but the Yankees, due to the adrenaline rush that comes with major league pitching, limited him to 65 pitches in his return against the Orioles (Cole finished with 62).
Cole is expected to throw about 75 pitches against the Mets on Tuesday.
Cole gave up two runs over four-plus innings in the season opener against the Orioles, but he got stronger as the game went on.
All five of his strikeouts came in the fourth inning, in which he faced seven batters, before allowing a single to the leadoff batter in the fifth to end his pitching day.
The right-hander mixed in all five pitches, led by his four-seam fastball, which averaged 95 mph. Though that’s down from last season’s average of 96.7 mph, he showed he still has plenty of velocity, topping out at 97.5 mph on Wednesday.
More importantly, Cole was pleased with his control in his first start since returning.
“It’s going to be a little bit of a switch in that respect, not having expectations and throwing the ball to targeted areas to give us a good chance to prevent runs,” the manager said.
Tuesday was originally scheduled to be a showdown between Cole and fellow former starting pitcher Luis Severino, but the Mets spoiled that by promoting Severino to the starting rotation for Sunday’s game against the Cubs, where Severino lowered his ERA to 3.29.
Cole, who considered Severino an integral part of the Yankees clubhouse over the past few years despite injuries that hampered his performance, was just happy to see his former teammate healthy and pitching well.
“I just want the best for Lewis,” Cole said. “I’m happy to have him pitching again. He’s put in a lot of hard work and it’s good to see it paying off.”
This will be Cole’s third time pitching in the Subway Series.
The Mets gave Cole a tough time at Yankee Stadium in 2021, but last season he pitched six innings and gave up one run at Citi Field.
“You look across the field and there’s a certain level of respect, the market is similar, the town is similar,” Cole said, “and obviously the players are good and the atmosphere is great.”
