TAMPA — Having Gerrit Cole walk off the mound mid at-bat in the first inning would usually mean disaster for the New York Yankees. But spring training is different.
Cole, making his spring debut Friday night, gave up a two-run home run and a triple before manager Aaron Boone pulled him during a 1-2 count six batters into the Yankees’ 8-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
But the Yankees’ ace reappeared in the second inning — that’s allowed in spring training — to smoothly complete his workday, retiring the side in order and facing two more hitters in the third inning. In all, he allowed two earned runs on four hits across the two-plus innings. He threw 39 pitches.
“I’m executing the way I want to execute there,” Cole said.
The only issue Cole had Friday had nothing to do with his own performance. It was with Blue Jays designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach, who punctuated his two-run blast off Cole in the first inning with a bat flip and trot that bothered the right-hander.
“What’s the day?” Cole said. “Are we still in February? March 1st? Yeah, he enjoyed that homer.”
Asked if he would remember Vogelbach’s enjoyment, Cole replied: “I don’t forget a lot of things.”
Cole, 33, was one of the few bright spots during the Yankees’ disappointing 2023 season. The right-hander went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 209 innings across 33 starts. The performance earned him his first Cy Young Award.
This year, he tops a starting rotation with a few question marks. Friday was a solid start even if he didn’t finish the first inning.
“It was good to be out there again,” Cole said, “and yeah, the stuff was pretty good.”