TAMPA — The last time Gerrit Cole pitched at Tropicana Field, his start went from a gem to a disaster in the blink of an eye.
That came on May 7 of this year. The Yankees blew a 6-0 lead with their ace on the mound that day and ultimately lost, 8-7, in 10 innings. Cole, who had cruised through the first four frames before running into trouble in the fifth and sixth, gave up six runs, five of which were earned.
The loss was one of the Yankees’ worst in a season that has since been filled with worthy candidates.
But Cole has mostly been a silver lining for the last-place Yankees, and a Friday return to The Trop saw the Cy Young contender stay true to form in a 6-2 win for the Yankees.
The righty lasted 7.2 innings in the series-opener while tallying four hits, two earned runs, zero walks, 11 strikeouts and 100 pitches before exiting to an ovation on the road. In doing so, Cole lowered his ERA to an even 3.00.
The Rays’ first run off Cole came in the sixth when Yandy Díaz hit a homer with no one on base. The pitcher was charged with another run in the eighth when Brandon Lowe logged an RBI single off of Jonathan Loáisiga.
The Yankees’ offense, meanwhile scored two runs off of Rays starter Zach Eflin.
DJ LeMahieu supplied the first run with a fifth-inning solo shot, his 10th dinger of the year. Everson Pereira then made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the sixth.
While the Yankees were able to get to Eflin, he certainly gave them trouble. The right-hander totaled six innings, seven hits, two earned runs, one walk and 11 strikeouts over 103 pitches, thus producing a line eerily similar to Cole’s.
But Tampa Bay’s first man out of the pen, Trevor Kelley, could not keep the Bombers at Bay. The side-armer, pitching in the majors for the first time since June 3, allowed three earned runs as the Yankees padded their lead with RBI doubles from Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton in the seventh.
Kelley then surrendered LeMahieu’s second home run of the night, also of the solo variety, in the eighth inning. The performance marked LeMahieu’s first multi-homer game since May 7, 2021.
With a victory in the books to start a long road trip, the Yankees will look to secure their second series win since July began on Saturday. Clarke Schmidt will start against the Rays, who hold the American League’s first wild card spot.
Tyler Glasnow will start for Tampa, while Zack Littell will pitch for the Rays on Sunday. Carlos Rodón will take the ball for the Yankees in the series finale.
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