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Gerrit Cole led the New York Yankees to victory against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, ending a four-game losing streak that included a weekend sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. Cole’s night even included some extracurricular activities during (and after) a seventh-inning at bat against José Caballero that even involved Seattle skipper Scott Servais.
The craziness only started after Cole made a 0-2 strike against Caballero. At that point, Caballero was awarded extra time by the umpire, which caused a relatively long delay by pitchclock-era standards. Cole appeared to be annoyed with Caballero, as he then uncorked a 97 mph fastball that had a better chance of reaching the stands than the strike zone.
Look:
Cole and Caballero would fight to a full count before Cole prevailed and struckout the rookie with a fastball look. Cole’s conflict with the Mariners didn’t end there, however, as he later waved his finger at the Seattle dugout as he left the field. That gesture turned out to be for Servais.
“Their manager had some choice words for me when I came off the pitch and he was wagging his finger at me, so I was wagging my finger at him.” Cole said afterwards.
As for whether or not Cole’s errant throw was intended, he told reporters (including Erik Boland from Newsday) the following: “Sometimes a high fastball can be a very effective pitch. You have to change your eye level.”
Cole would return to retire one more batter in the eighth before leaving. He finished his night by throwing 7 1/3 innings with one run, allowing four hits and a walk. He also struck out eight of the 28 batters he faced, doing so all on 105 pitches. That’s the third most pitches he’s thrown in a start this season, and the most since May 2.
Cole, 32, now has a 2.64 ERA (158 ERA+) and a 3.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first 16 starts. He has given up two earned runs or less in each of his last four appearances, and has got off to a good start in each.
The Yankees, 40-33 on the season, are tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the American League’s second wild card position. They will continue their streak against the Mariners on Wednesday before wrapping up this Thursday.
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