WASHINGTON – What Hal Steinbrenner dreamed of when he threw an ocean of money at Gerrit Cole in December came true Thursday on a stormy July afternoon.
Nothing about this baseball season has been normal. Spring training disappeared in mid-March due to the coronavirus, and invisible COVID-19s dance in all walks of life. New rules were introduced and protocols became as popular as three-run homers. Opening day, a staple in late March or early April, was Thursday night with Cole against Nationals ace Max Scherzer in front of empty seats in the National Park.
The first exception to nothing being normal is Cole, who threw the Yankees to a rain-shortened 4-1 victory on their debut and rewarded Steinbrenner for authorizing a whopping $ 324 million nine-year contract to sign. the free agent.
Who knows what’s next for the changing MLB landscape due to COVID-19, which put 21-year-old Nationals star Juan Soto on the bench on Thursday. But for one night, baseball came out of the mothballs and Cole drove the bus to the team he grew up cheering for in Southern California.
“I was so excited. I was walking through the clubhouse before and I saw a group of guys in Yankees uniforms and I realized this was real,” said Cole, who admitted to having a nerve case before overpowering the defending World Series champions.
In five innings Cole gave up one run, one hit, threw a walk, and stoked five. The final exit was Victor Robles looking at a 2-2 hit that pushed the speed gun to 98 mph and was the last of Cole’s 75 shots, 46 of which were attacks.
An evil storm illuminated the District and the lightning was escorted by a piercing thunder before the sky cried a river of water in the mix and the game stopped with the Yankees at bat in the sixth against Scherzer. An hour and 58 minutes later the game was called.
Giancarlo Stanton’s two-run homer off Scherzer in the first inning gave Cole a lead that he kept on. Aaron Judge added a doubled RBI against Scherzer in the third and Stanton added a two-out RBI single in the fifth.
The most impressive thing was that Cole came out when he was behind the count. Trea Turner, the first hitter Cole faced as a Yankee, flew to the right on a 3-1 pitch in the opening inning. Kurt Suzuki opened the second with a fly to the right on a 2-0 shot. Howie Kendrick hit a soft line on a 3-1 pitch in the fourth and Suzuki jumped right on a 2-1 pitch in the fifth.
After Eaton’s home run in the first inning cleared the wall in right field and reduced the Yankees’ lead to 2-1, Cole retired 14 of the next 16 Nationals and did not allow a hit. Eric Thames was hit by a pitch starting the second and Cole walked Asdrubal Cabrera with one out in the fifth.
“It was a lot of fun,” Cole said of pitching for the team he dreamed of playing with. “No one could imagine what kind of year we are having this year. But within those parameters, I had a great time. ”
Cole could get 11 more starts in the next 59 games for the Yankees. Not everyone will be as cool as Thursday night, but the electrifying things combined with the thirst for information give Cole an advantage that not all elite pitchers have.
For one night, Steinbrenner had an idea of the results that colossal check could produce.
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