New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole started at Fenway Park in Boston for the first time since 2022 on Saturday. It wasn’t a triumphant return.
The Boston Red Sox shelled Cole in a 4-1 Yankees loss. In 5.1 innings pitched, he struck out five batters but allowed four runs (four earned runs) and seven hits.
If it were just one bad outing, it wouldn’t warrant sounding the alarms, but it isn’t a one-off. It’s another rough performance for six-time All-Star Cole, who hasn’t looked like the same player since returning from Tommy John surgery in May.
Gerrit Cole has struggled since returning from right elbow injury
Cole went 1-0 in May, allowing no runs. His numbers tanked in June. Per StatMuse, he went 1-3 and logged a subpar 6.12 ERA in 25 innings pitched. That marks his highest ERA in a month (min. 25 innings pitched) since June 2017, when he was still playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That season, he finished with a career-worst 4.26 ERA in 203 innings pitched. Pittsburgh traded him to the Houston Astros the following offseason.