Gerrit Cole walked off the mound after the first inning on Tuesday night looking for a potential search from the umpires as part of MLB’s new league-wide crackdown on banned substances, but it never came.
It eventually did in the third, and there was no drama as a result, as Cole was cleared and went on to throw seven strong innings in a Yankee loss, but the process itself is something that will take an adjustment for the Yankee ace and pitcher across the league.
“Yeah, it was awkward,” Cole said. “I don’t know. I don’t really know. I don’t think it’s a super comfortable situation for anybody, but it is what it is. Maybe we’ll be more comfortable with it going forward.”
For Cole and many other pitchers, the new interaction with the umpiring crew is hardly the biggest adjustment. That comes on the mound, where the lack of substances to aid in grip has resulted in pitchers trying to change their approach on the fly thanks to diminishing spin rates. Cole logged the lowest average spin rate on his fastball, curveball and slider since 2017 in Tuesday night’s start, but still managed to turn in a quality outing and holds an ERA of 2.57 over his last three starts.
Besides spin rate numbers, Cole’s strikeout numbers are certainly a telling sign that the righty is turning himself into a different pitcher. He struck out only four batters last week against Toronto, and fanned six on Tuesday night, after recording at least eight punchouts in seven of his first eight starts of the season.
“I’m just trying to adapt and adjust, and obviously with a lot on the line, try to put location first, sequencing first,” Cole said. “When it’s all said and done, we’re just looking to get outs. If I can get outs on pitches I anticipate getting an out on, whether it’s a ground ball or fly ball or maybe a great defensive play, I’m not gonna be picky in that regard. But still definitely adjusting.”
Fortunately for Cole, he isn’t trying to create something entirely new, instead tapping into previous philosophies that he utilized before he became a prominent ace and a $300-million man.
“If I had a dollar for every time the Pirates told me to pitch to contact, I may not have as much money now, but I’d still have quite a bit of money,” Cole said/. “That’s what was hammered into us growing up, and there’s a lot of those fundamentals that are left in my game.”
So far, Cole has shown an ability to still be an ace, even with a diminished spin rate. He allowed just two runs through eight innings against a potent Blue Jays lineup last week, and gave up just three hits over seven innings on Tuesday night, leaving with the lead. It’s different, but it’s working, which should be an encouraging sign for Cole and the Yankees. The 12 strikeout nights may be a thing of the past, but Cole is proving that he still is, and always has been, an ace.
“Right now, if you’re not quite so comfortable locating a pitch at the top of the zone or really getting aggressive spinning a pitch in the bottom portion of the zone or taking a chance over the plate, if there’s maybe a more logical choice or something you can use to your advantage in terms of the defense, or a hitter’s weakness relative to soft contact or ground balls like that,” Cole said. “Those are things we’re targeting because we’ve gotta get outs and the adjustment might take a little time.
“Pitching well, throwing up innings and throwing up a lot of zeroes, so just keep doing what we’re doing and push on.”
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