Gerrit Cole didn’t earn a decision in the New York Yankees’ 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. However, in perhaps his most lackluster outing of the 2023 season, Cole still made some impressive MLB history.
Per OptaSTATS, Cole joined Roger Clemens (1991) as the only pitcher to record 30-plus innings pitched and 35 or more strikeouts while allowing three or fewer runs, zero homers and a WHIP of 0.80 lower through their first five starts.
Cole wasn’t dominant against Toronto on Saturday, scattering four hits while registering four strikeouts. However, he kept the Blue Jays scoreless through 5.2 innings, lowering his ERA to 0.79. According to ESPN Stats and Info, that’s the third-lowest by Yankees hurler through their first five starts, trailing only Eddie Lopat (1951) and Spud Chandler (1946), who both had 0.60 ERA.
The Yankees right-hander exited a 0-0 ballgame with two outs and two men on in the sixth after throwing 96 pitches. Cole’s pitch count rose over the first couple of innings as he had to wiggle his way out of danger in the first and second innings.
