ARLINGTON, Texas – For six innings Monday night, Gerrit Cole looked like the ace the Yankees need him to be down the stretch and into October.
And then came another injury scare.
As he warmed up for the bottom of the seventh, Cole appeared to have an issue with his right calf, and after a quick conversation with a trainer and Aaron Boone, he left the game.
The Yankees did not immediately announce the reason for Cole’s departure.
Cole had looked like he was trying to stay loose in the dugout in the top of the seventh inning, but then exited the game in an unceremonious and concerning fashion.
The reigning AL Cy Young winner, who missed the first two and a half months of the season with elbow nerve inflammation, had thrown six strong innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts before leaving the game.
Cole had only thrown 82 pitches, eight of which came in a shutdown bottom of the sixth inning after he had a long wait in the top of the sixth as the Yankees put together a five-run rally.
Coming into the night, the Yankees were staring down an impending rotation crunch with Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt expected to return from the injured list this weekend, which would have forced one of their starters to the bullpen if everyone stayed healthy.
As of Monday night, that was suddenly up in the air.