Cole Solid Yanks Roll On

 

By Andrew Rosario

 

No other team in baseball has been hit harder with the Covid19 bug than the New York Yankees. The latest was starting pitcher and ace Gerritt Cole who was diagonsed July 29th. Cole returned this past Monday against the Los Angeles Angels and showed why he will be a big reason the Bronx Bombers will make noise in the American League East. Cole came into the game with a perfect 5-0 record and 51 strikeouts in his last 5 games against the Halos. By the end of the game, the streak would reach 6 games as he struck out 9 in 5 2/3 innings. After giving up a first inning home run, Cole was unhittable. Newly acquired Joey Gallo supplied all the offense hitting a 2-run homer in the first inning. Gallo had been srtuugling since donning the pinstripes (7-50) before he blast two last Saturday. Said Gallo of the home run, “It was a pretty big home run. That’s how baseball goes. Get those runs while you can. It was pretty electric in there so it was one of the coolest home runs I’ve ever had.”

 

The Yankees squanderd opportuities in the 6th and 8th inning leaving a total of 5 runners in scoring positing. “I felt good out there, said Cole afterwards. “He’s an ace. He’s great at what he does,” said manager Aaron Boone. “He did a good job at managing himself.”

 

 

 

 

The Angels featured the hottest baseball player in the game today with Shohei Ohtani who came into the game with a league leading 39 home runs. Cole got the best of the matchup as he held Ohtani hiteless, striking him out 2 times. The Yankees hosted the Boston Red Sox Tuesday playing a doubleheader looking to get closer in the standings. Since the All Star break, New York has decreased the lead in the second wild card spot to 1 1/2 games. They are 16-4 in games decided by 1 or 2 runs the best in baseball. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have been in a freefall. They are 5-10 on the road and after those two games they are home for the next 6 games.

 

Boone’s picthing staff has picked up the slack since closer Aroldis Chapman was diagnosed whith Covid19. The team ERA is 3.28 with the opposition only hitting .223. They have combined for 283 strikouts. There has been no timetable for the return of Chapman.

There was 37,010 fans at Yankee Stadium Monday watching the team inch closer to being part of the postseason. Cole will play a major role in how far the team will go.