Gerrit Cole feels ready to pitch, likely will start Tuesday
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole looks on from the dugout against the Blue Jays during an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Gerrit Cole said he pretty much feels good to go, and after the righthander throws a bullpen session Saturday, the Yankees will determine exactly when that will be.
Aaron Boone indicated Friday it likely will be Tuesday in Baltimore when the Yankees start a three-game series against the Orioles.
"It’s feeling strong," Cole said of his left hamstring.
Cole asked out of Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays in the fourth inning because of tightness he felt in the hamstring, something he didn’t want to potentially make worse by continuing to pitch.
But Cole, who did not undergo any tests, felt good the next day and was on the field at the Stadium on Thursday afternoon playing catch in the outfield.
"I felt pretty confident with it," he said. "It’s recovered pretty well."
Cole will give the hamstring one final test Saturday when he throws off a mound in a bullpen session at Citi Field. But the AL Cy Young Award candidate — he’s 14-7 with a 2.78 ERA — sounded confident that there won’t be any further issues.
"I haven’t had anything that’s made me apprehensive to move," Cole said.
The Yankees have been staggering of late — they had lost six straight and 10 of 12 coming into Friday and suddenly are far from a certainty to make the postseason — but Cole said that circumstance did not make him try to come back sooner than he would have otherwise.
But it did influence his decision Tuesday to signal for the trainers when something didn’t feel quite right.
"[Being] up against it was probably why I made the move when I did [Tuesday]," Cole said. "It’s the stretch run. It’s at the forefront of all our minds."
Stanton sits
Because the DH was not used on Friday night, Giancarlo Stanton — who had eight homers in his last 20 games and 14 RBIs in his last 16 games, although he was 4-for-23 in the previous six — was on the bench, but Boone said he expects him to be in the lineup and play the outfield Saturday and Sunday. Luke Voit, who was 19-for-58 (.328) with five homers and 17 RBIs in his previous 23 games, also found himself on the bench Friday.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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