Unstable, dominant, unstable.
These are Gerrit Cole's three postseason starts.
So far, it's been good enough for the Yankees. That streak continued Tuesday night, thanks to more strong work from the bullpen, as the Yankees defeated the Guardians 6-3 in the Bronx to take a 2-0 lead in the ALCS.
But this wasn't Cole at his best.
He lasted only 4¹/₃ innings. He allowed four walks, four strikeouts, and six hits. He threw 89 pitches. He was unable to kill batters and was often at a disadvantage.
“We have to do better,” Cole said. “We have to do better.”
After a rocky regular season that started late due to injury, the postseason has been uneventful for Cole thus far.
He was beaten in the ALDS opener against the Royals, giving up four runs in five innings.
In the series deciding game, Cole was dominant, scoring one earned run in seven brilliant frames.
However, his latest start was similar to his first. There was only one 1-2-3 inning.
He made it through the fourth inning unscathed after the Guardians had one out and the bases loaded.
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He brought on pinch hitter David Frye and caught Brian Rocchio going for a backdoor slider. However, he was unable to get past the fifth after four of the first five Guardians reached base.
“We lost a little bit of zone, and we had too many walks,” Cole said. “But they threw a lot of quality at-bats together, tied them together, and obviously, they won some of those long at-bats and ultimately created enough pressure that it didn't allow. I think it gave us.’ We keep cruising and going deeper and deeper. ”
Cole won't be the same pitcher he was in the 2022 playoffs. At that time, he started three games and pitched 18¹/₃ innings with a 2.95 ERA.
This was the second-shortest appearance in his 20-game playoff career, behind only two innings in the 2021 wild-card game against the Red Sox.
The Yankees' bullpen was coming for Cole. Clay Holmes retired two of the three batters he faced and ended the inning by striking out Austin Hedges with the bases loaded and the Yankees still in the lead.
Tim Hill pitched 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings, Tommy Kahnley added 1 ¹/₃ shutout innings, and Luke Weaver pitched his ninth.
“Fortunately we were able to put it together there, but he got off to a good start and gave us a chance to secure Game 2,” manager Aaron Boone said of Cole.
