Yankees News: Gio Urshela injury, Gerrit Cole has COVID, young starter called up to bigs

New York Yankees, Gio Urshela
Apr 28, 2019; San Francisco, CA, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela (29) reacts after getting hit by a pitch during the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Monday was littered with bad news for the New York Yankees as they fell to the lowly Baltimore Orioles 7-1 at home. With new acquisition Andrew Heaney on the mound, the Bombers allowed four runs in 4.0 innings, as he elevated his ERA to 5.42. The bullpen didn’t fare much better, allowing three runs the rest of the way, but the Yankees offense was simply nonexistent.

The lineup tallied just three hits on the evening, and while they made solid contact, striking out just five times, they couldn’t take advantage of Jorge Lopez, who has a 5.91 ERA on the season and allowed just one hit over 6.0 innings.

Nonetheless, more disappointing news came after the game regarding an injury to starting third baseman Gio Urshela and ace Gerrit Cole being put on the COVID-19 list.

Your Yankees news roundup:

Gio Urshela:

Urshela underwent an MRI, which showed a middle-grade strain on his hamstring, which could see him back in a couple of days. Skipper Aaron Boone was more optimistic than pessimistic regarding his situation.

“He’s actually doing pretty well, so we can back-date it a couple of days [to Sunday],” Boone said. “He’ll continue to ramp up here in the next couple of days and hopefully it will be just another week or eight days or so.”

Gerrit Cole:

The Yankees’ constant COVID-19 issues continue to bubble to the surface, as Cole tested positive prior to making his start on Tuesday, which will keep him out for at least a few days. Luckily, he’s the only player to return a positive test, so the rest of the team should be safe for now.

Over 21 starts this year, Cole has a 3.11 ERA, winning 10 games. Coming off a 14-0 beating against Tampa Bay last week, he was looking to bounce back against Baltimore, but that will have to wait.

Luis Gil:

Via Gil’s Instagram, the young starting pitcher will make his major league debut this week. With Cole out, Gil could earn himself a start, currently hosting a 5.64 ERA over eight games in Triple-A. He features a 25.7% ground ball rate and 11.27 strikeouts per nine, giving up six homers and 22 hits over 30.1 innings this season, per Fangraphs. Gil has never made an appearance at the MLB level, so he will be looking to leave a positive impact. Baltimore represents the perfect team to take on.