In the biggest game of the New York Yankees’ season, their ace couldn’t deliver. With five full days of rest, Gerrit Cole couldn’t get out of the third inning and ended up taking the loss as the Bombers fell 6-2 to the Boston Red Sox. Their archrivals advanced to the American League Division Series, where they will face the Tampa Bay Rays.
Cole didn’t pitch well in his last start of the regular season, allowing five runs in six innings last Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Last night, he conceded three runs, including a pair of home runs to Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber.
“A difficult decision, but one I feel I needed to make,†said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, per USA Today. Cole left with two men on base and nobody out, but Clay Holmes cleaned up his mess with a key double play.
The Yankees’ ace didn’t deliver
Cole said he was “sick to my stomach’’ for failing to come through when it mattered most. He also said that “not achieving your ultimate goal†is the “worst feeling in the world.â€
“That’s the guy they gave all that money to. He’s the ace,” Bogaerts said of the Red Sox’s happiness about taking the Yankees’ ace out of the game so early. Still, “everyone coming out of that bullpen is throwing 95-plus.”
Cole has struggled since injuring his hamstring in September 7, with a 6.35 ERA since that point in four starts. He insists he is fine health-wise.
“When it’s all said and done, I didn’t perform the way I wanted to perform,” he said.
The offense once again failed to show up besides Giancarlo Stanton, who hit two balls to the Green Monster and homered late in the game to put the second and final run for the Yankees. Ownership and the front office will have a long, busy winter trying to bring the Bombers back to being really competitive.