New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole looked like his Cy Young-winning self during his long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
In his first big-league appearance since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, Cole allowed just two hits while striking out two and walking three over six shutout innings at Yankee Stadium.
Cole K'd Yandy Díaz in the first inning for his first strikeout in over two years.
Welcome back, Gerrit Cole 👏
— MLB (@MLB) May 22, 2026
He has his first strikeout of 2026! pic.twitter.com/73ofFyiqHu
"It was almost like a second debut kind of a situation," Cole said postgame, per SNY. "It was an enjoyable moment and it was nice to get back in the fire."
Cole left the contest with the Yankees clinging to a 1-0 lead. However, Tampa Bay scored four times in the eighth inning against the Yankees' bullpen to grab a 4-2 win.
Despite both a low pitch count - Cole only threw 72 pitches - and a struggling bullpen, manager Aaron Boone said postgame that his ace was never going to come back out for a seventh inning of work.
"He was done at that point tonight," Boone told reporters. "He was great."
Cole relied on his trademark fastball as well as a sinker while stymieing the Rays' offense and lit up the radar gun with both pitches. His four-seam topped out at 98.6 mph in the first inning. Tampa Bay only put eight balls in play on his offerings that were clocked at 95 mph or higher, per Baseball Savant.
The 35-year-old missed all of last season after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament last March. He was limited to 17 regular-season starts in 2024 because of elbow inflammation.
Cole made six minor-league rehab starts before rejoining the Yankees' rotation Friday. He put up a 4.66 ERA with 28 strikeouts and just three walks over 29 minor-league innings across three levels to prepare for his return.
