Yankees ‘Strict’ Pitch Count Restrictions Leads To Gerrit Cole’s Early Exit


Yankees, Gerrit Cole

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s defending AL CY Young campaign unfolded with a nightmarish start. He missed two and a half months of the season due to an elbow inflammation injury. Since Cole barely avoided Tommy John surgery, he could return to action in mid-June only to witness an underwhelming start.

Gerrit Cole has had a roller coster season comprising of nine starts. He recently skipped a scheduled start due to fatigue. Hence, when Cole returned to mound to take on Texas Rangers in a double header, the New York Yankees were extremely mindful of his workload and cut short his dominant outing abruptly.

Yankees Pull Out Gerrit Cole After 90 Pitches In 10-Strikeout Outing

Yankees, Gerrit ColeX.com
In a recent game against the Texas Rangers on Saturday, New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was pulled earlier than expected due to the team’s strict pitch count restrictions. Cole’s 2024 season has been marred by major lows. After a gruesome elbow injury, he skipped a start this month, citing body fatigue. Hence, with injury and workload concerns creeping in, manager Aaron Boone, along with pitching coach Matt Blake, chalked up a pitch count restrictions plan for Gerrit Cole. Under his plan, Cole wasn’t allowed to exceed 90 pitch count. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Cole was arguably having the best outing of the season against the Rangers in Game 2 of the doubleheader.

Gerrit Cole allowed one run on six hits and 2 walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out 10 Rangers hitters before the New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled him out of the mound. The decision left the fans puzzled as Cole was expected to last beyond six innings. However, Boone explained that the team had planned to stick to the 90 pitches restrictions count. Despite a positive outing, it was in Cole’s best interest to prioritise his workload. But overall, the skipper and the pitcher were happy with the encouraging start. “With what he has been through, it is just encouraging to see him go out and throw the ball the way he did today again,” Boone said. That being said, with six weeks left in the regular season, Gerrit Cole Cole aims to achieve consistency going forward while taking good care of his body and workload.

Marcus Stroman Regains Form After Multiple Days Layoff

Marcus Stroman, YankeesNYY Instagram
Meanwhile, New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, who has been struggling with consistency on the mound, was give a few days off to work on his mechanics. His previous scheduled start was pushed to Sunday as Aaron Boone fired warning to Stroman to find his rhythm back before its too late into the season.

Meanwhile, Marcus Stroman repaid Aaron Boone’s faith with a dominant outing on Sunday in the Yankees’ 8-7 win against the Texas Rangers. He allowed only 1 run in 5 plus innings, but his strikeout rate was still a problem. Also, Stroman’s sinker velocity stayed below 90. Regardless, the skipper is satisfied with the pitcher’s marginal improvement and expects him to only build steam from here.