Haircut Below The Shoulders

NEW YORK -- Gerrit Cole's first start of the 2024 season went about as well as he and the Yankees could have hoped last week. His second outing Tuesday night against the Mets didn't.

Cole was blasted over four innings, yielding six runs on seven hits in the Yankees' 9-7 loss at Citi Field. He gave up four home runs, walked four and didn't record a strikeout. It was the second time Cole didn't register a strikeout in his career and the second time he allowed at least four home runs.

"Just disappointing," Cole said. "Didn't really give us a good chance to win tonight. Didn't execute enough pitches. Just kind of dug us a hole."

Two positives offered a silver lining: Cole threw 72 pitches, more than in any of his three rehab starts in the minors or his season debut, and the right-hander said he was healthy despite his fastball velocity decreasing after the first inning.

Cole's fastball was 97 to 99 mph for the first time in 2024 in that first frame, an encouraging burst three months removed from being shut down with nerve irritation and edema in his right elbow. His first fastball in the second inning, however, was a 91.5 mph offering that Mark Vientos cracked for a home run. Cole didn't throw a pitch harder than 95.5 mph for the remainder of his outing.

After the game, Cole insisted the drop-off was by design and that he was healthy. He explained he intentionally dialed back the velocity after issuing three walks and throwing 28 pitches as the Mets jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning because he believed the strategy would give him the best chance to work efficiently and avoid an early exit with a 75-pitch limit.

"It's a bit like driving a car," Cole, 33, said. "Too much clutch or too little clutch can slip you out of gear a little bit. So, obviously, it came out really tremendous in the first and had to make a lot of pitches. But the reality is we just weren't in the strike zone enough. The objective is to try to get as deep in the ballgame as you can."

Cole issued just one walk over his final three innings, but he couldn't put hitters away. He induced just five whiffs while the Mets fouled off 11 pitches. Six balls hit into play traveled at least 101.5 mph. Vientos barreled two of those hard-hit balls for home runs -- both on fastballs after Cole said he chose to shave velocity off the pitch.

"He's still working back," Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge said. "That's our ace. That's our guy. And I want him out there every single five days. Games like this happen, and you just got to move on and learn from it. He'll be fine."

Cole is slated to next pitch Sunday in Toronto against the Blue Jays, barring a change to the Yankees' rotation. 

"My execution was poor, so I never really gave myself a chance to learn anything," Cole said. "To get a foul ball or to get a mishit, it ended up in damage. This league is really hard. I certainly had the stuff tonight to give us a chance, and I just pitched poorly."