The Yankees’ starting rotation has been an absolute force so far this season, surprising many by holding the best collective ERA in the American League behind breakout performers like Nestor Cortes Jr. and Jameson Taillon.
On Thursday night, Taillon’s brilliance was nearly taken to historic levels when he lost a perfect game big in the eighth inning, and one night later, it was Gerrit Cole on the Yankee Stadium mound flirting with perfection before allowing a two-out single to Jonathan Schoop with two outs in the seventh.
Neither pitcher was able to make baseball history on their own, but together, they did.
According to ESPN, Cole and Taillon are the first teammates in the expansion era, at least as far back as 1961, to take perfect games into the seventh inning in consecutive games, highlighting how collectively dominant the starting rotation has been in 2022.
After Cole’s gem on Friday night, the Yanks rotation now leads the American League in ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched, WHIP, and K/BB ratio.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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