Yankees ace pitcher Gerrit Cole left the mound with an obvious damage in Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays.
Within the fourth inning towards Toronto, he signaled the athletic coach and supervisor Aaron Boone to the mound. The 31-year-old gave the impression to be flexing his proper hand a bit earlier than exiting to the coach’s room. The specifics of the difficulty stay unclear, although the Yankees later described the damage as left hamstring tightness.
Gerrit Cole left tonight’s recreation with left hamstring tightness.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 8, 2021
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Cole left the sport because the Yankees trailed the Blue Jays 3-1, permitting three earned runs — together with a solo shot by Blue Jays designated hitter Alejandro Kirk — on 5 hits and two walks. He solely managed to strike out two batters whereas delivering 46 of his 70 pitches (65.7 p.c) for strikes. His fastball averaged 97.9 mph on the evening, barely above his seasonal common of 97.7 mph.
He was changed by rookie reliever Albert Abreu, who obtained the Yankees out of the inning with out additional harm.
Though the ace missed time final month after ending up on the COVID-19 injured record, that is the primary occasion of an damage scare with Cole. Since signing with the Yankees previous to the 2020 season, Cole has been sturdy and constant for the Yankees.
The Yankees merely can’t afford to lose Cole, who got here into the sport as an American League Cy Younger Award candidate. He’s 14-6 with a 2.78 ERA. The Yankees don’t at present have a transparent No. 2 starter.
