MOCKING BIRDS
Cole, offense power Bombers to 17th straight win over lowly O's
BALTIMORE — This was hardly the start to his Yankees career Gerrit Cole envisioned — except for the results.
From his debut being delayed for months by the coronavirus pandemic, his first outing cut short by rain in Washington and his second shifted to Baltimore because the Yankees’ schedule was upended by the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak, it’s hardly been an ideal beginning.
But Cole has made the most of it so far, following up his win over the Nationals with another solid performance in a 9-3 win over the Orioles on Wednesday at Camden Yards — on a night the Yankees were supposed to be hosting their home opener in The Bronx.
“I’ve had to go with the flow a lot,’’ Cole said after he allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven. “Hopefully I get a little better with my surroundings.”
DJ LeMahieu’s homer was one of three hit by the Yankees and Cole showed long stretches of dominance, even if his final line wasn’t eye-popping.
Cole was kept on regular rest despite the team’s recent lack of activity and walked the first batter he faced. He followed by allowing a runscoring double two batters later — but then overpowered the Orioles, at one point retiring 14 straight and 19 of 20. “He really got into a good rhythm,’’ manager Aaron Boone said. ButafterhegotHanserAlbertotopopto short for the second out of the seventh, ColegaveupadoubletoRenatoNunezfollowed by a two-run homer from Dwight SmithJr.andadoublebyPedroSeverinoto end his evening with a four-run lead. LuisAvilancameonandwalkedDJStewartbeforegettingAustinHaystoflytoright. By then, the Yankees lineup added plenty of firepower and the combination gave the Yankees their 17th straight win over the hapless cellar-dwellers — and 16th in a row in Baltimore. At least this time, Orioles’ fans didn’t have to sit through it in person.
“We just need that one run for him,’’ said Aaron Judge, who also homered. “He’s fun to watch.”
The Yankees were just pleased to be back on the field after their schedule was up in the air following the situation with the Marlins, who have had their season paused — along with the Phillies. “We had nothing to do with Miami and our schedule got wrecked,’’ Cole said. “It’s a good wake-up call for the league. I hope we learn from it.”
LeMahieu, who had four hits and is 6-for-12 on the season despite being out with COVID-19 added, “It’s crazy that’s how quickly this thing can snowball. I personally feel pretty safe with the precautions we’re taking.”
Judge called it “backyard baseball.” Whatever the name, the Yankees seem ready to pummel the Orioles for another season.
The Yankees’ power display began immediately, starting with LeMahieu’s leadoff shot on the second pitch of the game against right-hander Asher Wojciechowski. Wojciechowski allowed just four hits in his five innings, but three were homers.
Judge opened the third with a home run to left and Aaron Hicks added a two-run homer later in the inning to give the Yankees a 5-1 lead and they never looked back.
It was also another victory for Cole, who extended his winning streak to 18 games.
Cole was sluggish early. Hays walked to start the bottom of the first and then Cole allowed a one-out RBI double to Jose Iglesias that cut the early Yankees’ lead to one run.
But Cole quickly settled in as the Yankees built on their lead.
Chad Green pitched a scoreless eighth before right-hander Brooks Kriske finished it in his MLB debut.
Cole’s next outing figures to come next week against the Phillies.
“We kind of felt like we had the game taken away from us and we’re happy to have it back,’’ Cole said.