Gerrit Cole strives for perfection and keeps the Yankees good times going

Friday June 3, 2022

Tigers 0, Yankees 13: This was a stinker

Gerrit Cole delivered the kind of jewel Yankees fans dreamed of when he signed a $324 million contract. Aaron Judge led an offensive barrage into a crowded stadium for his bobblehead night. Manny Banuelos finally threw in pinstripes and lived out a teenage dream that eluded him.

Cole threw himself perfectly in the seventh inning one night after teammate Jameson Taillon missed his chance in the eighth, Judge hit a homer and scored four and New York beat the Detroit Tigers 13-0 on Friday for their widest lead victory since 2009.

The Yankees are the first team to have consecutive perfect play bids of at least six innings since at least 1961, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Trevino, Anthony Rizzo and Matt Carpenter also homed for New York in his third major league start ahead of 10-run rookie Elvin Rodriguez (0-1). The major league-leading Yankees won for the eighth time in ten games, renewing a fourth-place Tigers team that had just won four of five against AL Central, leading Minnesota.

Jonathan Schoop ruined Cole’s perfect night with two outs in the seventh. Schoop hit a shot that sliced down the middle, narrowly missing the glove of second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who made a second slide stop against Harold Castro.

Cole (5-1) received a standing ovation from the 42,026 fans at Yankee Stadium, some of whom must have been in attendance the night before when Taillon lost a perfect game to the Los Angeles Angels in game eight. Jared Walsh thwarted Taillon’s attempt with a leadoff double deflected off the glove of sliding shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Cole was knocked out after seven shutout innings with two hits allowed and nine strikeouts on 102 pitches. He grabbed a video tablet in the dugout as soon as the seventh ended and appeared to replay Schoop’s hit multiple times.

There have been 23 perfect games in major league history, including two before 1900.The last was thrown by Félix Hernández for the Seattle Mariners against Tampa Bay on August 15, 2012, the last of three that season.

Cole dominated the hapless Tigers with a fastball of up to 100 mph and dominated a team that started Friday at an average of 2.86 runs per game, the worst in the majors since the White Sox of 1968.

Willi Castro started the game with a routine flyball to the right that clocked in at 87.3 mph early on, and that remained Detroit’s hardest ball until Harold Castro’s seventh inning grounder.

Cole is the eighth straight Yankees starter to go at least six innings, the best streak for the franchise since a nine-game streak in 2016.

Cole redeemed himself for a miserable performance on April 19 in Detroit when he hit a career high with five walks and conceded two runs while only lasting 1 2/3 innings. The 31-year-old, who signed a nine-year, $324 million contract ahead of the 2020 season, has never hit a no-hitter.

Bañuelos replaced Cole in his first major league appearance since 2019, completing the ball with three strikes. Bañuelos, previously a top Yankees contender, switched to the Mexican and Taiwanese leagues on his way back to the big leagues.

Judge became the first player in the majors to hit 20 homers after firing a solo shot to the right in the third. The ball landed right in front of the Judge’s Chambers cheering section. He took an RBI single off a 59-mile lob from Harold Castro in eighth for his fourth hit.

The Yankees exposed the Tigers’ defense during a three-run fourth inning when Carpenter hit the bat and then scored on Treviño’s drive into midfield, which was misinterpreted by Willi Castro. A natural shortstop, 25-year-old Castro played his ninth pro game at center.

UP NEXT
Yankees RHP Luis Severino (3-1, 3.38 ERA) meets Tigers RHP rookie Beau Brieske (0-4, 5.25) in the middle of a three-game streak on Saturday. Brieske has allowed 10 home runs in seven starts.

What do you think, leave a comment below.