Old team to try tough task of solving Cole
NEW YORK — At first glance, Gerrit Cole’s reunion with the Astros might appear awkward. Cole is the leader of a Yankees team that still harbors resentment toward his former club. He listened Tuesday night while a crowd of 10,850 unleashed hell on former teammates for whom he still shares a special affinity. Cole’s task on Thursday is to beat them.
Cole will face the Astros for the first time since leaving via free agency two winters ago and establishing a legacy few starting pitchers can match. His start Thursday will complete an anticipated three-game series — the Astros’ first trip to Yankee Stadium since the revelation of their sign-stealing scandal in 2017.
“The fans have their emotions that they need to express. It is what it is,” Cole said. “I think as players, our job is to try to do our job the best we can and not listen to the crowd, whether it be good or bad. The environment was hostile, emotional. I don’t expect that to change the next few games, certainly. But in a sense, it is what it is. We’ll have to deal with it.”
Cole’s 326 strikeouts in 2019 remain the most by any Houston starter in a season. He struck out 10 or more hitters in a franchiserecord 21 games en route to a second-place finish in American League Cy Young voting behind teammate Justin Verlander. His acquisition from Pittsburgh in December 2017 will go down as one of the most successful trades in franchise history.
“It was a really special time in my career,” Cole said of his two seasons in Houston. “I was adopted so quickly into the clubhouse. The team was super fun to be around from day one. I think the level of focus from the 25th man all the way to the top with Jose ( Altuve) is something that you see in organizations that have prolonged winning — the attention to detail, the competitive edge, the competitive fire.
“I could go on and on about some of the characteristics of the club, but when it’s all said and done, the play on the field speaks for itself, and they’ve been remarkably consistent over a long period of time.”
Cole has only one other experience facing a former team. He tossed six innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 Astros win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 25, 2019. Cole struck out a seasonlow three batters, though, perhaps a product of the opponent’s intimate familiarity.
“There will probably be some similar emotions, but I think there were less familiar faces in Pittsburgh than there are in Houston,” Cole said. “Tremendous lineup, top six guys have really been swinging the bat well. Good OPS’s across the board. I think (Tuesday) was a good demonstration of quality at-bats from the first inning through the ninth inning, which is exactly what I remember.”
Cole is off to the best start of his major league career. He struck out 62 and walked three in 372⁄3 April innings, earning American League Pitcher of the Month honors. Cole leads the American League with a 0.717 WHIP and 14.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He had at least eight strikeouts in each of his first six starts. He’s punched out at least 10 batters in three straight, creating a compelling matchup against an Astros lineup that entered Wednesday’s game with a major league-low 19.4 percent strikeout rate.
“You don’t want to give the opposition too much credit because you don’t want to pitch timidly or go against your strengths,” Cole said. “There’s a lot of talent, so I’m not going to be too hard on myself in terms of if I don’t execute a pitch and I get punished. There’s a lot of talent and a lot of good approaches, so I’m going to have no choice but to be at the top of my game and attack the strike zone.”
Springer to miss series in Houston
George Springer will not play in his return to Minute Maid Park this weekend.
The Blue Jays placed Springer on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a right quad strain, ensuring the former fan-favorite outfielder will not appear in Toronto’s only series in Houston.
Springer has played just four games for the Blue Jays while combating oblique and quad injuries he sustained during spring training. He made his Blue Jays debut on April 28 after signing a six-year, $150 million deal this past winter.
It is unclear whether Springer will travel to Houston with the Blue Jays. Even if he doesn’t, familiar faces litter the team’s lineup. Craig Biggio’s son, Cavan, will play, as will former Astros outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.
Slumping Tucker sits in favor of Díaz
With Kyle Tucker mired in a miserable start to his season, Aledmys Díaz made his first major league start in right field Wednesday against the Yankees, supplanting Tucker on only a “temporary” basis.
“This is temporary. This is today,” manager Dusty Baker said. “Might not even be the whole game. Kyle was hitting the ball great, and then the last few games he’s been struggling. Today is a day to get some work in.”
Tucker struck out twice in three at-bats during Tuesday’s 7-3 loss, lowering his OPS to .597. The Yankees started lefthander Jordan Montgomery on Wednesday — an unfavorable matchup for the lefthanded-hitting Tucker — but also carry four lefthanded relievers in their bullpen. Tucker entered as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning Wednesday but did not bat.
The Astros started exposing Díaz to right field earlier this month. The utilityman has only seven outfield starts in his sixyear major league career — all in left field.
Yankee Stadium’s short rightfield porch, coupled with the Astros’ righthanded-heavy lineup, prompted Baker to keep Michael Brantley and Myles Straw at their natural positions in left and center field, respectively.
Tucker is slashing .183/.241/ .356 after his first 117 at-bats. He’s averaging a 91.4 mph exit velocity on batted balls in play — suggesting some bad luck — but has an elevated 29.1 percent chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone. Tucker’s chase rate was 26.3 percent last season.