NEW YORK — After an absence spanning 569 days, Yankees star pitcher Gerrit Cole made his highly anticipated return to the mound Friday evening, delivering six scoreless innings against Tampa Bay while helping his team to a 1-0 advantage.
The 35-year-old right-handed pitcher, who underwent elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in March 2025, surrendered just two hits and issued three walks while recording two strikeouts. Cole delivered 50 strikes out of his 72 total pitches, beginning 18 of 22 at-bats with strikes.
The six-time All-Star and 2023 American League Cy Young Award recipient displayed remarkable command for someone returning from such an extended break. Cole required only 11 pitches combined in the third and fourth frames and at one point set down 10 consecutive batters.
His four-seam fastball averaged 96.1 mph across 35 offerings, topping out at 98.6 mph during the opening inning. Cole’s arsenal included 13 sinkers, 10 sliders, eight changeups and six knuckle-curves throughout the outing.
Cole demonstrated his baseball instincts by picking off a baserunner to navigate first-inning difficulty and displayed clear passion when he yelled after firing a full-count fastball past Jonathan Aranda for a called strikeout in the fifth frame.
Austin Wells provided offensive support with a fifth-inning home run against Nick Martinez.
Sporting several days of facial hair, Cole warmed up to the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” then knelt on the infield dirt just in front of the pitcher’s mound to focus on the ground. He incorporated his modified overhead arm motion in his delivery, a technique developed during his rehabilitation process.
Cole maintained his stamina by eating bananas in the dugout between innings.
Chandler Simpson faced a 95.9 mph called strike to open the contest, then managed an opposite-field bloop hit to left-center on another fastball and moved up when Junior Caminero drew a full-count walk. After Aranda flew out, Cole caught Simpson off second base during his leadoff attempt and Yandy Díaz went down looking on a sinker for the third out.
Cole navigated around a one-out walk in the second inning, then set down three straight batters on seven pitches in the third and again on four pitches in the fourth. He retired 10 consecutive hitters before Cedric Mullins broke through with a fifth-inning base hit.
Cole’s last meaningful major league appearance came on Oct. 30, 2024, during Game 5 of the World Series, when the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied from a 5-0 deficit by scoring five unearned runs off Cole to capture the championship.
He underwent medical testing after surrendering two home runs during his second spring training appearance in 2025 against Minnesota on March 6, leading to reconstructive elbow surgery five days afterward.
Cole completed two one-inning spring training appearances this season on March 18 and 24, then started his minor league rehabilitation assignments on April 17. He posted a 4.71 ERA across 28 2/3 innings, giving up 28 hits while striking out 28 and walking three batters.
