OAKLAND, Calif. — In Gerrit Cole's last game before Friday, he was hitless early on, then issued an intentional walk that reverberated around the world and the game ended in disaster.
After a five-day wait to pitch again and plenty of uncertainty along the way, Cole finally got a chance to redeem himself — and make the most of it against the worst team in the league.
The result was his best start of the season, pitching the seventh inning for the first time this season, and then the eighth and ninth innings as well.
After Cole finished his nine innings, Juan Soto finally woke up the offense and rewarded Cole with the win.
Soto, who left his opening pitching appearance about two hours before because of soreness in his left knee, played a key role in helping the Yankees score three runs in the top of the 10th inning to beat the Athletics, 4-2, in front of a crowd of 23,426 at the Coliseum.
The game remained tied 1-1 after Cole threw his 99th and final pitch of the day to finish off a strong, two-hit nine innings.
But the Yankees (90-64) quickly took the lead in the top of the 10th when Anthony Rizzo singled to advance automatic runner Jason Dominguez to third base and then scored the winning run on a passed ball.
It happened during Soto's at-bat, pinch-hitting for Trent Grisham, who started the night on the bench because his left knee was swollen and painful after hitting it against the right-field wall while catching a ball Thursday in Seattle.
But Soto hit a RBI double to left field to give the team a 3-1 lead, and was replaced by a pinch runner at that point.
Anthony Volpe added an RBI single (his third hit of the day and second RBI) to make the score 4-1 and give Luke Weaver some breathing room to close out the bottom of the tenth.
The Athletics (67-87) automatically put a runner on base on Weaver's single, but Weaver struck out the next three batters to earn his third save of the season.
With the Orioles' win on Friday, the Yankees remain four games behind first in the AL East with eight games remaining.
With the Orioles' win, the Yankees will not win the division on this tour, meaning their magic number to do so is now five.
While winning the division will be the biggest priority over the final week or so of the season, Cole getting back on track and pitching like he always does well into October will be crucial to the Yankees' playoff hopes.
Cole had been pitching well until last Saturday, when he intentionally walked his arch rival Rafael Devers (with one out and no runners on base in the top of the fourth inning with the Yankees leading 1-0), and his pitching then began to suffer.
Cole had made 15 starts this season before Friday, but none of them lasted more than six innings.
But he was incredibly efficient against the Athletics, going six pitches through the first inning and hitting a home run that was a harbinger of things to come.
Former Mets prospect JT Ginn (traded for Chris Bassitt) pitched a tough five innings against the Yankees, allowing one run.
The right-hander allowed just four single hits and one walk while striking out four and recording two important double plays.
Cole struck out the first nine batters on just 33 pitches before Lawrence Butler singled past Rizzo, the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the fourth.
Butler then stole second base and scored on a single by Shea Langeliers through the left side with two outs and two strikes for a 1-0 lead.
But the Yankees rallied with two outs in the top of the fifth and quickly tied the game. Rizzo walked with a full count and advanced to third on a downfield single by Grisham, who replaced Soto in the lineup later in the innings.
Volpe then got his second hit of the night, a single the other way, sending Rizzo home and tying the game at 1-1.
