NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole, the Yankees’ lucky mascot and starting pitcher for Game 1 and Game 4, is ready for Game 5. The decisive ALDS game between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians will take place at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday after rain washed out Monday’s schedule.
The Yankees won Game 4 in Cleveland, setting up a winner-take-all Game 5 between the two teams. The loser goes home, and the winner goes to the ALCS to play the Houston Astros.
Jameson Taillon was the first choice of the Yankees for Game 5. However, he is now replaced by Nestor Cortes as the starting pitcher.
Gerrit Cole started Gane 4 to throw 110 pitches on Sunday night and played a key role as the Yankees beat the Guardians 4-2 to return from the brink of elimination and keep alive their hopes for the ALDS. His availability for Game 5 is good news for New York fans.
However, manager Aaron Boone said he wasn’t sure if he should use Gerrit Cole. He didn’t say it was impossible either. According to him:
“I’d be hesitant, yeah. He’s already told me he’s available. I’d probably be a little hesitant to use him, but you never know where the day takes you.”
It wouldn’t be the first time for a pitcher to come out of the bullpen the day after making a postseason start. Randy Johnson, who was the best pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks at the time and is now in the Hall of Fame, came out of the bullpen in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series and struck out all four batters. He had already thrown 104 pitches over seven innings. Johnson was the pitcher who won Game 7.
Gerrit Cole was ready to come out of the bullpen for the Astros in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series, but AJ Hinch, the team’s manager at the time, only wanted to use him when the Astros already had a big lead. This year’s situation is very different from the last year when Cole started Game 5. He had a lot of time to rest before Game 7 in 2019.
As Game 5 approaches, New York’s bullpen is much less rested than Cleveland’s. In Games 2–4, they used a lot of their best relievers, including lefty Wandy Peralta, who pitched in all three games.
Should the Yankees use Cole in Game 5? What do you think?
