Gerrit Cole was blasted by the New York Mets in his second start of the season on Tuesday night.
He gave up four home runs, walked four and didn\'t record a strikeout in the New York Yankees\' 9-7 loss at Citi Field.
\"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.\"
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.
His fastball was 97 to 99 mph for the first time in 2024 in that first frame. Cole\'s first fastball in the second inning, however, was a 91.5 mph offering that Mark Vientos hit 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,\" the 33-year-old 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.\"