In a commanding performance, Gerrit Cole led the New York Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, retiring the first 16 hitters he faced and pitching eight dominant innings.
Cole (14-4) delivered one of his best outings of the season, yielding only a single run and two hits. He struck out nine batters, issued no walks, and allowed only two baserunners throughout the game. With this impressive performance, Cole further solidified his status as the American League’s ERA leader, boasting an AL-best ERA of 2.75.
This win marked Cole’s fourth consecutive victory since his loss to Boston on August 19, and he continued his remarkable consistency by allowing two runs or fewer for the 25th time this season, the most in MLB.
The Yankees’ offense was ignited early by Jake Bauers, who crushed a three-run homer just four batters into the game against Toronto’s starter, Jose Berrios (11-11). Aaron Judge and Estevan Florial also contributed to the scoring with RBI doubles, allowing the Yankees (77-76) to avoid a three-game sweep by the Blue Jays.
Toronto (85-68) saw its five-game winning streak come to an end and is currently holding a half-game lead over Texas and Seattle for the second of the American League’s three wild-card spots. The Blue Jays will face the Tampa Bay Rays in a critical three-game series, while Seattle will visit Texas on Friday.
Gerrit Cole displayed his dominance throughout the game, needing only 36 pitches to retire the first 16 hitters he faced. His perfect game bid was thwarted when Alejandro Kirk doubled to right-center with one out in the sixth inning. Cole, on his 69th pitch, recorded the hit and responded by striking out Kevin Kiermaier and retiring George Springer, his former Houston teammate.
The seventh inning saw Cole collecting two more strikeouts by fanning Bo Bichette and Davis Schneider to end the inning, bringing his pitch count to 89. In the eighth inning, Cole lost his shutout bid when Matt Chapman led off with a double and scored on a wild pitch two batters later.
The Yankees’ reliever Clay Holmes loaded the bases in the ninth inning and allowed two runs before closing out the game. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. entered as a pinch-hitter and contributed a run with a groundout, while Bichette scored on a throwing error by Gleyber Torres from second base. However, Spencer Horwitz grounded out to end the game.
With this win, the Yankees moved above .500 with nine games remaining in their season, avoiding their first losing season since 1992 and ending a three-game losing streak. José Berríos, on the other hand, suffered the loss, allowing four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings and falling to 3-6 in 11 career starts against the Yankees.
