ARLINGTON — Gerrit Cole had already logged a strong body of work when he started grabbing his right calf on Monday night.
The Yankees’ ace had begun to warmup for the seventh inning at Globe Life Field, but he left the mound with a trainer by his side before he could throw another official pitch. Fortunately for Cole and the Yankees, cramps were the reason he hit the showers early in Arlington.
“I tried a couple of things to get it to stop, and it didn’t stop,” said Cole. “So it didn’t seem like it was going to go away.”
Cole will continue to be monitored and reassessed on Tuesday, but he said he wasn’t “super concerned.” He just didn’t want to push his luck after pitching through a cramp last season.
“I jogged out there and didn’t feel it,” Cole said, adding that he first felt the cramp while following through on a warmup pitch. “I don’t feel it walking or moving around or anything.”
Added Aaron Boone, who initially feared something was wrong with Cole’s arm: “I know he seemed pretty good right now when we came in. Hopefully that’s the case.”
More from @RealMichaelKay on Gerrit Cole’s exit Monday in Arlington. pic.twitter.com/nPkMQhEwlq
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 3, 2024
Prior to his departure, Cole left the Yankees well-positioned for an 8-4 win over the Rangers.
The right-hander totaled six innings, four hits, one earned run, one walk, nine strikeouts and 82 pitches in one of his stronger starts of his season, which was delayed by elbow inflammation. Cole’s fastball played a huge part in his success, as the pitch induced 10 whiffs.
For comparison, Cole’s heater, looking a little flat, only yielded four whiffs against the Nationals his last time out.
“I thought it was really good,” Cole said of his four-seamer. “Thought we were mixing locations good and controlling the velo on it well and getting to really good areas.”
The Rangers’ only run off Cole came on a Josh Smith double in the third inning. Aaron Judge double-clutched on his throw from center on the play, allowing Marcus Semien to score from first.
Texas scored two more runs when Wyatt Langford homered off Luke Weaver, Cole’s last-minute replacement, in the seventh.
Before all that, the Yankees separated themselves with a five-run sixth.
Judge started the scoring that inning with an RBI double. Jazz Chisholm Jr. added an RBI single before Anthony Rizzo sliced a ground-rule double. That gave the Yankees two more runs before Chisholm dashed home on a wild pitch.
Giancarlo Stanton then responded to Langford’s homer with his 25th blast of the season, a solo shot in the eighth. The slugger is now the only active player to have at least 25 homers in 10 different seasons, according to the YES Network’s James Smyth.
“I feel like sometimes people don’t take notice of just what an outstanding career he’s had to this point,” Boone said. “I feel like he’s swinging the bat really, really well. I feel like his swing is where it needs to be. He’s got a really good look in his eye right now. I’m excited about the presence he is in our lineup right now.”
Giancarlo Stanton’s 5th homer in 10 games
25th this year, only active player with 10 25+ HR seasons
Judge/Soto/Stanton only trio of teammates with 25+
427th career HR ties Mike Piazza for 51st all-time
160th with Yankees ties Roy White for 28th on the franchise list
— James Smyth (@JamesSmyth621) September 3, 2024
The Yankees scored their first two runs in the third inning when Gleyber Torres doubled. That followed singles from Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo. Volpe’s hit came in his first at-bat against former high school teammate Jack Leiter, who was charged with five runs over just as many innings.
“It was pretty special,” Volpe said of facing Leiter, who he almost took deep in his second at-bat.
The Rangers scored another run on a Jonah Heim groundout in the ninth, but they failed to add on when Torres ended the game by diving for a short-hopping line drive. With the ball secure, an off-balance Torres threw to Rizzo for the final out.
“That was not an easy play,” Boone said of Torres, who has 15 errors this season. “In between hop like that to the backhand. Last thing we want to see is [Corey] Seager coming up there as the tying run. That was a big time play.”
Having won the opener, the Yankees will try to secure a series victory on Tuesday with Carlos Rodón on the mound. The team has had to play rubber matches in its last nine series; a Tuesday win would snap that streak.
Trying to prolong it will be Andrew Heaney, the Rangers’ scheduled starter and a former Yankee.
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