Gerrit Cole made his season debut for the New York Yankees against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
Cole made just three rehab starts following a troubling elbow injury.
Working with a short leash, the right-hander pitched four-plus innings in front of a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees would eventually lose 7-6 to the Orioles in 10 innings.
Cole threw 62 pitches and his average fastball velocity was down 1.6 mph from last season, but he still touched 97 mph.
\"I felt pretty good,\" he said. \"Good command for the most part. And made some good pitches when we needed to make some good pitches.\"
Before the game, Aaron Boone declined to share Cole\'s pitch limit. He said the goal was to build up Cole \"conservatively.\"
On Wednesday, that meant a 65-pitch limit, Boone said after the game. Asked what his pitch limit would be in his next outing, Cole echoed his manager\'s competitive disadvantage line. But he did offer a hint: \"More.\"
\"I\'m tired now,\" Cole said. \"Certainly a different level. It just demands a higher level of focus and execution. I definitely felt I could keep making pitches, but it was strategic in the pitch count. And, certainly, in that regard we executed that perfectly.\"