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Carlos Rodón signing: The Yankees’ rotation, led by ace Gerrit Cole, has huge upside and huge question marks

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The big baseball news of Thursday night was the Yankees adding lefty Carlos Rodón to their rotation on a six-year, $162 million deal. After retaining Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo, the next major box to check this offseason for Brian Cashman’s front office was adding a big arm to the rotation and he got it done. 

The Yankees now have a five-man rotation with very high upside, but there are questions throughout. Let’s dive in. 

The upside: We’ve all seen it. Cole is arguably the best pitcher in baseball to have not (yet?) won a Cy Young. He’s finished second in voting twice and has four top-five finishes. He’s twice led the majors in strikeouts and led the AL with a 2.50 ERA in 2019. On any given day that he takes the ball, he’s capable of carrying his team with a dominant outing. That’s an ace, easily. 

The question: For being a dominant pitcher, why does he give up so many home runs? He led the AL with 33 homers allowed last season. He allowed a home run in all three of his playoff starts and, in fact, has given up at least one home run in his last nine playoff starts going back to 2019. The long ball problem was the main culprit in him being inconsistent last season, pitching overall to a 3.50 ERA (111 ERA+, his worst since leaving Pittsburgh by a wide margin). 

Carlos Rodón

The upside: In the last two seasons, Rodón has made 55 starts and is 27-13 with a 2.67 ERA (157 ERA+), 0.998 WHIP and 422 strikeouts against 87 unintentional walks in 310 2/3 innings. On a rate basis, he’s been one of the best, most dominant pitchers in baseball. He’s a lefty ace to stand tall alongside the righty Cole! 

Oh, and here’s a good stat: In fourseam fastball whiff rate (with 1,000 pitches minimum) last season, Cole was number 1 and Rodón was number two in all of baseball. The Yankees have the heat. 

The question: Rodón dealt with shoulder injuries in 2016 and 2021 and had Tommy John surgery in between. This means he started, by season,12, 20, 7 and 2 games, respectively, from 2017-20. In 2021, it looked like his career year, but he only managed 23 innings in five starts after Aug. 7. As noted, the shoulder injury was a concern. Even in making 31 starts last season, he averaged just 5 2/3 innings per start, adding up to 178 on the season. That was his career high. 

Can he stay on the mound all season and, if he does, will he still be full strength for the playoffs? Or will he wear down in October and falter when the Yankees need it most? 

The upside: We just saw it! Nasty Nestor was one of the breakout stars of 2022, making the All-Star team and finishing eighth in AL Cy Young voting. He’s capable of resembling an ace through the lineup twice or even three times. If he were slotted third in a playoff rotation, it would be reasonable to expect him to hold his own or even come out on top a good number of times. 

The question: Is it repeatable? 

Cortes was never highly-touted. The Yankees lost him in the Rule 5 draft to the Orioles and then the Orioles gave him back the following April. Then he was traded to the Mariners for “future considerations,” hit minor-league free agency and re-signed with the Yankees. He started 2021 in the minors. 

He was a full-time starter last year, but it was for 28 starts and 158 1/3 innings. He went through a bit of a rough patch through the middle of the season, too. It’s good that he’s only the three instead of being counted on as an ace, but there still has to be some level of concern that 2022 will end up being a fluky season for the southpaw. 

The upside: The two-time All-Star has third- and ninth-place finishes in Cy Young voting to his credit. In those two seasons, he was 33-14 with a 3.18 ERA (137 ERA+), 1.09 WHIP and 450 strikeouts in 384 2/3 innings. He flashed plenty of that upside last season, too, when he was 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA (123 ERA+), 1.00 WHIP and 112 strikeouts in 102 innings. He looked like his old self when on the mound. 

The question: Again, it’s staying on the mound. Those ace-level seasons were 2017-18. He made just three starts in 2019, zero in 2020 and appeared in four games in relief in 2021. Last year, he was out between July 13 and Sept. 21. Arm issues have hampered much of his career, including shoulder issues and then Tommy John surgery, the latter of which came with several setbacks during his rehab. Last year, it was a lat strain. 

He can be great when he pitches. He also has zero 200-inning seasons and only two more than his 102 last season, with the most recent of those being 2018. There has to be concern about getting him through the full season and then, if he does, how well he’d hold up through a potential deep playoff run. 

The upside: The fifth man of five on this list who flashes ace upside, Montas looked like a Cy Young candidate in 2019. Through 16 starts, he was 9-2 with a 2.63 ERA (164 ERA+), 1.12 WHIP and 103 strikeouts in 96 innings. In 2021, Montas finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting with a strong all-around season (3.37 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 207 K, 187 IP, 3.6 WAR). Last year before he was traded to the Yankees, he had a 3.18 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings. 

The questions: That 2019 season mentioned above? Yeah, it stopped abruptly because he was suspended for a PED violation. He was then bad in 2020. 

In eight starts for the Yankees, after the trade, last season, he had a 6.35 ERA. It’s only been 6 2/3 innings, but he has a brutal 9.45 playoff ERA. 

At a bare minimum here, we’re dealing with inconsistency, plus a shoulder injury last season. 

When he’s good, he’s outstanding, but the track record is littered with landmines. Which version do the 2023 Yankees get for most of the season? How about when it matters most? 

In all, the Yankees have a rotation that is capable, when things are pie-in-the-sky humming, of looking like five aces. It also isn’t difficult to see stretches where they have multiple members of the rotation on the injured list while at least one other is struggling to keep runs off the board. It could be a roller coaster of a season with this group. Most roller coasters are fun, though, and there’s enough upside here to believe this will be one of the best rotations in baseball. 

The Yankees haven’t won the AL pennant since 2009 and that’s ages for this franchise. They’ve gotten to the ALCS three times in the last six seasons and all three times they were eliminated by the Houston Astros. The defending World Series champions are going to have a very strong rotation next season, but they did lose Cy Young winner Justin Verlander to free agency while the Yankees brought in someone capable of pushing for a Cy Young award. They now aim to topple their nemesis and finally get back to the World Series. They have the rotation upside to get the job done, but they’ll need to answer a lot of questions in the process. 

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Yankees vs. Guardians score: Gerrit Cole, Harrison Bader help keep New York’s season alive, force ALDS Game 5

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The New York Yankees won ALDS Game 4 on the road against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday night to tie the series at 2-2 and force a decisive game in the best-of-five series. Gerrit Cole and Harrison Bader helped save New York’s season in a 4-2 victory. The Yankees took an early lead and never trailed, but there was some drama into the late innings. 

Let’s take a look at how it all went down. 

Yankees strike early, Bader goes deep again

The Yankees got on the board before the Guardians even had a chance to hit. Gleyber Torres led off the game with a single, stole second base and then scored on an Anthony Rizzo single. 

They didn’t wait long to add more, as center fielder Harrison Bader hit a two-run shot in the second inning to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Here’s the blast: 

It was a no-doubter at 429 feet and the third home run for Bader in the series. He hit zero in 14 regular-season games for the Yankees, and before his injury and trade, he hit five in 72 games for the Cardinals. This is only the third time in Yankees history a center fielder has homered three times in an entire postseason, joining Mickey Mantle and Bernie Williams, according to ESPN Stats and Info. 

Cole looked like an ace

That’s why they pay him the big bucks, right? The Yankees were facing elimination and needed a big outing from their ace coming off a gut punch of a loss in Game 3. Cole went out and worked seven strong innings. The Guardians were able to scratch a run across the plate in the third inning on a José Ramírez blooper that had no business being a hit. 

There was one booming run given up by Cole: A Josh Naylor homer in the fourth inning. Naylor was very excited rounding the bases while calling Cole his “son.” 

Hey, whatever gets you going, right? That’s the eighth straight playoff game Cole has allowed a homer, tying Yu Darvish for the MLB record (via Katie Sharp). 

Cole locked it in after that. He responded by retiring the next 10 batters he faced and 12 of his final 13. 

The line: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 8 K. He threw 110 pitches, so anyone thinking of him coming out of the bullpen in Game 5 can keep dreaming. Regardless, that was a big outing for the Yankees when they needed it most. In fact, it could be argued this was the biggest outing of Cole’s Yankees career, given the circumstances.

Also, for fans of starting pitchers going deep into games (I’m raising my hand!), Cole going seven here was the eighth time so far this postseason that a starter has gone at least seven innings. There were only four such starts for the entirety of the playoffs last year (via Sarah Langs). This is a positive trend for the game as a whole, it says here. 

Yankees give Guardians a taste of their own medicine

The Guardians’ ways of putting the ball in play to make things happen really went their way in Game 3. They found a bunch of holes, sometimes on balls not hit very hard. Their first run in Game 4 was similar. 

This time around, in the top of the sixth, the Yankees gathered some insurance in similar fashion. Aaron Judge reached on a ground-ball infield single before Anthony Rizzo softly doubled down the left-field line. Then Giancarlo Stanton drove home Judge with a sacrifice fly. 

It’s much more efficient to just club homers, but any which way works. All the runs count the same. 

Holmes, Peralta shut the door

With the late-inning rallies we’ve seen from the Guardians all season, not to mention the Yankees’ bullpen woes late in the year, a two-run lead was pretty tenuous heading to the eighth. Much was made about Clay Holmes not pitching in Game 3. He got the eighth inning in this one. He walked Steven Kwan with one out, bringing the tying run to the plate, but Holmes struck out Amed Rosario and then Ramírez to end the threat. 

In the ninth, the Yankees went with Wandy Peralta. He had already thrown in every game this series, making the Game 4 outing his third consecutive day on the hill. He went 27 pitches in Game 3, too. No matter. He closed things down with two weak grounders and a strikeout. 

Peralta only threw seven pitches in this one, but Game 5 would be his fourth straight day pitching. It’s possible he’ll be compromised. Yankees manager Aaron Boone has indicated he wouldn’t use Holmes on back-to-back days, so it’s possible he’s out for Game 5 or at least not as sharp as he was in Game 4. 

Everyone else is available. 

Guardians best relievers are fresh

With a big tip of the hat to Cody Morris for his two scoreless innings and nods toward Zach Plesac (one scoreless inning) and Eli Morgan (one run allowed in one inning), the Guardians’ bullpen is in excellent shape heading to Game 5. 

  • Sam Hentges didn’t pitch in Game 4 after going 31 pitches in Game 3. 
  • Trevor Stephan hasn’t pitched since Game 2. 
  • Primary setup man James Karinchak hasn’t pitched since Game 2, meaning all three setup men are fresh and ready to go in possibly extended duty in Game 5. 
  • Emmanuel Clase is the best closer left in the playoffs. He also hasn’t pitched since Game 2. In that game, he went 2 1/3 innings, providing a nice illustration that he’s fine getting a lot more than just three outs. 

Expect Terry Francona to lean heavily on those four pitchers in Game 5 with the season on the line. 

Next up

We’ll do it again Monday, only the series shifts back to Yankee Stadium for a 7:07 p.m. ET start. There was only one Wild Card Series to go the distance and it was played in New York and this series represents the only divisional series to go the distance. It’s win or go home for both teams. 

As such, the pitching situation is basically “all hands on deck.” The starters are set to be Aaron Civale for the Guardians and Jameson Taillon for the Yankees. 

Civale (5-6, 4.92) hasn’t pitched in game action since Oct. 5, but he did close the season well (3.27 ERA in his last four starts). Taillon (14-5, 3.91) was the losing pitcher in Game 2, as he coughed up two runs on three hits without recording an out in the 10th inning. 

Still, it’s unlikely either team is planning on the starters to go very deep unless they are totally dominant — especially the Guardians with those late studs fresh. 

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Yankees vs. Guardians score, takeaways: New York takes ALDS Game 1 behind Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rizzo

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NEW YORK — Yankee Stadium was full of firsts Tuesday night. It was the first postseason game in the Bronx since Game 5 of the 2019 ALCS. It was Gerrit Cole’s first home postseason start as a Yankee. Two players hit their first career postseason home runs. And the New York Yankees won the first game of their ALDS matchup with the Cleveland Guardians (NYY 4, CLE 1).

Cole pitched around early trouble to give the Yankees 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball while striking out eight against the team with the lowest regular season strikeout rate in baseball. Anthony Rizzo put the game to bed with a two-run home run into the second deck in right field in the sixth inning. New York is now two wins away from advancing to the ALCS.

Here are takeaways from Game 1 between the Yankees and Guardians.

Cole navigates early danger

The Guardians certainly made Cole work in the early innings. They got a man to second base in the first and second innings, but Cole escaped with strikeouts, then some nifty defense helped him navigate a bases loaded, one-out jam in the third. Most notably, Josh Donaldson ranged to his left to scoop a ground, and threw home for the force out.

Following that out at home, Cole settled in and retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced, and Cleveland did not have another runner advance as far as second base while he was on the mound. His only blemish was a Steven Kwan solo homer — it was Kwan’s first career postseason homer and only his seventh homer of 2022 — and in three starts this season, Cole held the Guardians to three runs in 19 innings.

It should be noted that, although he needed 39 pitches to get through the first inning, Cole was able to take the ball into the seventh inning. That’s important because the Yankees are without several key relievers due to injury (Zack Britton, Scot Effross, Chad Green, Michael King, etc.) and will need to cobble things together in the late innings this postseason. The more they get from their starters, the better.

“It was very special for me. It was very special,” Cole said with a smile when asked about the ovation he received after Game 1. “The game’s not over — I left with traffic  — it’s not the most comfortable time to acknowledge the crowd but I appreciated it.”

The eventful fifth inning

There was some right-field funny business in the bottom of the fifth inning. First, Donaldson lifted what he and 47,807 people in the Bronx thought was a go-ahead solo home run into the right-field seats. The ball hit the very top of the wall and came back into play, however, and Donaldson was tagged out after rounding first base on his would-be home run trot. Replays confirmed the ball did indeed hit the top of the wall. It was not a home run.

The next batter, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, poked a single along the line in right field and Wild Card Series hero Oscar Gonzalez misplayed the hop, allowing the ball to go through his legs. Kiner-Falefa made it to third base on the error and Jose Trevino drove him in with a go-ahead sacrifice fly. Right field took a homer away from Donaldson and gave Kiner-Falefa three bases.

“That’s what he’s done all year. He made that error (in the first inning), he bounced back really well,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about Kiner-Falefa after Game 1. “Obviously then gets a big hit in the corner to set is up. So yeah, it was good he got more chances and kind of bounced back from it.”

Trevino, who made his first All-Star Game this summer, was incredibly clutch during the regular season. He had two walk-off hits and hit .355 with runners in scoring position. The sac fly wasn’t a hit, but it came with two strikes and it gave the Yankees the lead in the postseason. Trevino has really been a godsend for New York this year.

Rizzo gives the Yankees insurance

The Yankees scored their first run on Harrison Bader’s first career postseason home run, and also his first home run as a Yankee. He came over from the Cardinals at the trade deadline and was on the injured list with a foot injury. It wasn’t until mid-September that he was activated, and he went 10 for 46 (.217) in a 14-game tune-up. Bader picked a good time for his first Yankees homer.

Bader tied the game 1-1 and Trevino gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. In the sixth, Rizzo provided two insurance runs with a homer into the second deck in right field. With Andrew Benintendi hurt and Matt Carpenter currently relegated to pinch-hit duty, Rizzo is the only reliable source of left-handed power in New York’s lineup. The Yankees need him to pepper the short porch.

Prior to Rizzo’s blast, 62-homer man Aaron Judge reminded everyone he is so much more than a home run hitter. He worked a leadoff walk against Cal Quantrill, stole second, then took third when the throw went into center field. Judge went 16 for 19 stealing bases this year in addition to those 62 homers. He’s such a gifted, well-rounded player.

Once Rizzo gave the Yankees a 4-1 lead, manager Aaron Boone was able to navigate through the final three innings with righty Jonathan Loáisiga, lefty Wandy Peralta, and righty Clay Holmes. Game 1 was Peralta’s first appearance since Sept. 18. He missed the last few weeks of the regular season with a back injury. It was also Holmes’ first appearance since Sept. 26. He missed the end of the regular season with a shoulder issue. Clearly, the Yankees were comfortable throwing him (and Peralta) right into the fire.

Up next

Game 2, of course. Historically, teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-five series have gone on to win the series 71 percent of the time. The ALDS schedule is a little unusual this year, with an off-day between Games 1 and 2 and Games 2 and 3. Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday night, though the forecast suggests the weather could be an issue. Whenever Game 2 is played, it’ll be Nestor Cortes (12-4, 2.44 ERA) against Shane Bieber (13-8, 2.88 ERA).

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Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah challenges heated Gerrit Cole after Yankees’ Aaron Judge hit by pitch

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8:09 PM ET

  • Marly RiveraESPN Writer

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      Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com.

NEW YORK — As the race for the postseason continues to heat up, so have the tempers in the toughest division in baseball.

The Yankees clawed out a 4-2 win over the AL East rival Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, but not before tensions boiled over in the fifth inning when Toronto starter Alek Manoah hit Yankees All-Star Aaron Judge with a 92 mph fastball.

“Been struggling with my sinker for about five, six starts now,” Manoah explained after the game. “I made a pitch and it obviously hit Judge. I looked at him, said, ‘Man, you know, I’m not trying to do that.'”

With a runner on second and first base open, Manoah’s sinker hit Judge on the shoulder, the same spot in which he had barely missed earlier in the game. Visibly upset, Judge mouthed a few words to Manoah as he walked to the mound.

“[Judge] looked at me and he’s like, ‘That’s two,'” Manoah said. “In the first inning, I did mistakenly throw one up there as well. But obviously, in a situation like that, I’m trying to minimize baserunners. So I told him, ‘I’m not trying to do that.'”

Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, who took the loss Saturday, came out of the dugout followed by several teammates during the tense exchange as Judge waved them off. The game was briefly halted but tempers settled, and Judge went to first base. Manoah walked over to talk to Judge and appeared to help defuse the situation.

Manoah said he explained to Judge that it was trouble with his command, but there was no love lost for Cole’s fuming reaction.

“I think [Judge] understood that. And I think if Gerrit wants to do something, he can walk past the Audi sign next time,” Manoah said, referring to the luxury car brand logo sprayed on the grass by the visiting team dugout at Yankee Stadium.

When asked whether it had anything to do with it being Manoah specifically, and whether he believed he intended to hit Judge intentionally, Cole remained vague in his postgame comments.

“Not necessarily,” said Cole, who gave up four earned runs over six innings in the Yankees’ 5-2 loss to the Jays on Saturday. “Just a little one too many [batters hit by pitch] for my taste. I don’t know what to say.”

Manager Aaron Boone said he did not believe Manoah’s pitch was intentional, but defended Cole’s reaction.

“He doesn’t like our guy getting drilled,” Boone said. “Sometimes we get caught up in this intentional thing, like if it’s not intentional, then fine. Sometimes we have a different take on that. When your dude gets hit, it usually gets your attention. I think [Judge] handled it great. I thought Gerrit was just sticking up for his guy, for our guy. It’s just two division rivals, playing for a lot, a little moment in the game, not much to it.”

Judge, who also said he believed there was no intent, described the incident as the emotional part of competition.

“It’s the heat of the moment. Nobody likes to get hit,” Judge said. “Everybody’s watching the game, everybody’s into it. No matter who gets hit, everybody’s going to take exception to it. Dugout had a couple of things to say and then you move on.”

In terms of disclosing his conversation with Manoah, Judge said, “We’ll keep it between each other.”

And with the Yankees having lost 14 of their previous 17 games and looking to snap a three-game losing streak and avoid a sweep, Judge stated his focus was clear.

“At first you’re pissed, and I was pissed, but I didn’t need anybody else getting thrown out for me getting hit. I was just kind of moving on to the next play,” Judge said. “I know [Anthony] Rizzo had a big at-bat behind me. I’d be a little happier with getting a couple of runs instead of us brawling out there. … We took care of business and moved on.”

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Sports

First Call: Broncos sign ex-Steeler before trip to Pittsburgh; Twitter shreds Gerrit Cole; Shane Baz to appear in ALDS

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Tuesday’s “First Call” gives us yet another ex-Raider taking shots at the Steelers over the Immaculate Reception. A former Steeler signs with the Denver Broncos days before they come to Heinz Field. Shane Baz gets to show his skills on a big stage. And fans skewer Gerrit Cole following his wild card flameout.

Let it go!

In the days leading up to the Steelers loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last month, Vegas quarterback Derek Carr fanned the flames of the rivalry by disputing the legitimacy of the Immaculate Reception.

Now a former Raiders legend is piling on. Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff took a jab at Franco Harris and the rest of the Steelers, insisting the legendary play from 1972 was a bad call.

“(I) Can’t figure out how guys can lie for so many years and not feel guilty,” Biletnikoff told former NFL kicker Morten Andersen on his “Great Dane Nation” podcast. “Some of them have probably gone to counseling just to get over lying.”

Speaking of counseling, these old-time Raiders sure could use some. The first stage of grief is said to be denial. They seem to be stuck on that one.

Tough crowd

Much like was the case in 2015 with the Pirates, Gerrit Cole started a wild card game Tuesday night.

Much like was the case in 2015, it didn’t end well.

Cole took the loss at PNC Park in ‘15 when the Pirates lost to the Chicago Cubs 4-0. He took the loss Tuesday in Fenway Park when his New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox 6-2.

And in both cases, he gave up a home run to Kyle Schwarber.

At least in 2015, Cole lasted five innings. On Tuesday, he couldn’t even get through three. The right-hander was pulled in the second inning having allowed three runs and six base runners on 50 pitches. Xander Bogaerts homered in the first inning off of Cole as well.

The internet was less than gracious toward Cole.

To be fair, Cole was 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in Houston during the 2019 postseason. But when you make $324 million in New York, that doesn’t really matter, does it?

Big Game Baz?

Now the Red Sox will play the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Divisional Series.

In Game 2, they’ll face another former Pirate. Well, at least a former Pirates first-round draft choice. It’s Rays right-handed pitcher Shane Baz.

The 22-year-old was 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA and 18 strikeouts in his first three major league starts for Tampa in the regular season. Now he’ll get the call in Game 2 on Friday.

Baz went to Tampa along with Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows in the infamous Chris Archer trade.

Convenient timing

Former Steelers linebacker Avery Williamson has a new gig.

And it’s with the Denver Broncos.

What a coincidence, huh? I meam what with the Steelers set to play Denver this week and all. Head coach Vic Fangio couldn’t possibly be milking Williamson for information, could he?

With much fanfare, Williamson came to the Steelers via trade last year after Devin Bush was injured. Williamson appeared in eight games as a Steeler. He started four. He totaled 37 solo tackles and one sack, playing 30% of the defensive snaps.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.



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Gerrit Cole pulled early vs. Red Sox

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BOSTON — In Gerrit Cole’s biggest moment yet as a Yankee, he didn’t make it out of the third inning.

The $324 million right-hander got shelled for two home runs and walked two batters in two-plus innings on Tuesday night against the Red Sox in the American League wild-card game at Fenway Park.

By the time Cole walked the second batter on his 50th pitch of the night, putting runners on first and second with no outs in the third inning with the Yankees already trailing 3-0, manager Aaron Boone decided he had seen enough. He made the long walk to the mound and took the ball from Cole — seemingly stunning the crowd, which responded with cheers. Boone called on Clay Holmes from the bullpen.

Holmes got out of the jam with a strikeout and double play to limit the damage on Cole’s line.

Pitching to the soundtrack of “Gerr-it” chants from the Boston crowd, Cole issued a two-out walk in the first inning and it came back to hurt him when Xander Bogaerts crushed changeup down the middle for a two-run home run to center field.

Gerrit Cole was pulled in the third inning on Tuesday.
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Cole worked around a hard double by Kevin Plawecki in the second inning but then gave up a 435-foot home run to Kyle Schwarber on a 97 mph fastball above the zone to lead off the third inning. Kiké Hernandez then singled on a swinging bunt before Rafael Devers drew his second walk of the night, sending Cole to an early exit.

It marked the latest clunker for Cole, who pitched to a 5.13 ERA in September. He left a Sept. 7 start early with hamstring tightness, but insisted on Monday it was fine.

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Yankees vs. Astros takeaways: Gerrit Cole shuts down former team; Aaron Judge appears to mock Jose Altuve

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Saturday night at Minute Maid Park, the New York Yankees and Houston Astros continued their three-game series wrapping up the first half of the season. The Yankees won Friday’s opener behind spot starter Nestor Cortes Jr. (NYY 4, HOU 0).

There is no love lost between these two clubs, who have been frequent postseason opponents in recent years. The Astros eliminated the Yankees in the 2015 AL Wild Card Game, the 2017 ALCS, and the 2019 ALCS. Yankees fans booed Houston relentlessly in response to the sign-stealing scandal when they visited New York in May.

Saturday’s game was a riveting pitcher’s duel and one of the most entertaining games of the 2021 season. The Yankees won the game 1-0 to clinch the series victory (box score). Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s game.

Judge appeared to mock Altuve

Aaron Judge drove in Saturday’s only run with a solo home run onto the train tracks in left field in the third inning, and as he rounded third base, and he made a tugging motion with his jersey that sure looked to be a reference to Jose Altuve not wanting to remove his jersey following his ALCS walk-off home run in 2019. Here’s the home run and Judge rounding third:

Yeah, it’s hard to look at that as anything other than Judge mocking Altuve. Judge played it cool after the game though, rather than admit his true intentions.

“Whenever they keep the roof closed here, it’s a little chilly. I was just telling my teammates to button up a little bit,” Judge told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.

Fair or not, there has been speculation the Astros used buzzers to steal signs in 2019, and Altuve not wanting to remove his jersey following the ALCS walk-off home run has been cited as evidence. He has denied it vehemently, saying he was “too shy” to remove his jersey.

Many players around the league were outspoken after news of the sign-stealing scandal broke, including Judge. He said, “I just don’t think (their 2017 World Series title) holds any value. You cheated and you didn’t earn it,” when asked about it last spring training.

In MLB’s report detailing its investigation into the sign-stealing scandal, commissioner Rob Manfred said the league uncovered no evidence the Astros stole signs illegally in 2019. In the court of public opinion, Houston gets no benefit of the doubt, and clearly Judge (and surely other players) still feel wronged. Hard to blame them.

Judge finished second behind Altuve in the 2017 MVP voting. Saturday’s home run was his 21st this season. Judge took a .286/.377/.526 batting line into the game and was voted into the All-Star Game as a starting outfielder. Altuve and all other Astros have pulled out of the All-Star Game.

Cole was lights out

The last few weeks have not gone well for Gerrit Cole. Coincidentally or not, his performance has cratered since word got out MLB would crack down on foreign substances last month. Cole had a 1.78 ERA in 11 starts in April and May. In June and July, it was a 5.24 ERA in six starts going into Saturday, and his spin rates were down significantly.

On Saturday, April and May Cole showed up. He held the Astros, his former team, to three singles and two walks in the 1-0 complete game shutout. Cole struck out 12, his highest strikeout total in nine starts. Houston’s lineup is depleted with Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa injured, though Cole still had to del with Altuve, Michael Brantley, Yuli Gurriel, Yordan Alvarez, and others.

Cole threw a season-high 112 pitches through eight innings Saturday, but with Aroldis Chapman struggling and top setup men Chad Green (workload) and Jonathan Loaisiga (COVID list) unavailable, Yankees skipper Aaron Boone sent Cole back out for the ninth. When Altuve led off the inning with a single, it looked like things were about to go downhill for the Yankees.

Soon thereafter Boone went out to the mound to chat with his starter — Chapman was warming in the bullpen at the time — and Cole talked his skipper into leaving him in the game. The conversation was animated, to say the least.

“I said the F word a lot and then I just kind of blacked out. I don’t remember what I told him,” Boone told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, about his conversation with Boone.

Following the Altuve single, Cole rebounded to get Brantley to fly out, and to strike out Gurriel and Alvarez to end the game. He threw 129 pitches — his final pitch was 99 mph — the most by any pitcher since former Astro Mike Fiers threw 131 pitches in his no-hitter on May 7, 2019. The 129 pitches are the most by a Yankee since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson threw 129 on July 19, 2006.

Following the game Boone revealed Cole was “under the weather and getting IVs” during the club’s previous series in Seattle, according to NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty. It was unclear whether Cole would even make Saturday’s start. Make the start he did, and it was a brilliant performance to give the Yankees a series win against a hated rival.

Greinke exited with an injury

If the loss and getting shut down by a former teammate wasn’t bad enough, the Astros also lost starter Zack Greinke to an injury. He exited the game after three innings and 65 pitches with right shoulder soreness, manager Dusky Baker told reporters, including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. It’s unclear whether he will go for any tests.

Greinke, now 37, took a league-leading 111 1/3 innings into Saturday’s game. He allowed Judge’s solo home run before exiting and the Yankees worked him hard, pushing him into several deep counts despite not breaking through with a big inning. The good news is the All-Star break is coming up, so the Astros can easily give Greinke extra rest without placing him on the injured list.

“It’s always possible (I’ll miss time) but it’s not the worst thing that I’ve dealt with,” Greinke told Rome.

José Urquidy is currently on the injured list with a shoulder issue and of course Justin Verlander is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Should Greinke miss time, Houston would likely return righty Cristian Javier to the rotation. Javier recently moved into the bullpen and threw three scoreless innings Saturday night.

The Astros were shut out again

Going into Saturday’s game the Astros led baseball in runs (488), batting average (.270), on-base percentage (.340), OPS (.785), and OPS+ (115). They’ve been the best hitting team in baseball by no small margin in 2021.

Despite that, the Yankees have shut Houston out in the first two games of their weekend series, holding them to six hits total in the two games. It is the first time the Astros have been shut out in back-to-back games since May 1-2, 2018, also against the Yankees. Several Astros hitters were riding long 0-fors in the middle innings.

There’s no shame in getting shut down by Cole the way he was throwing Saturday, plus Bregman and Correa are injured, so the Astros don’t have their full lineup at the moment. They’re way too good for this offensive malaise to continue, however. The Yankees have pitched them well the last two days and credit to them. Houston will take it out on some poor team soon enough, maybe even the Yankees on Sunday. They’re too good to keep down too long.

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