The Yankees sealed the deal last night in Kansas City, defeating the Royals 3-1. They’ve punched their ticket to the 2024 American League Championship Series. A huge component to this victory was the outstanding performance by Gerrit Cole.
Dominant Gerrit Cole Performance Sets Tone For ALCS
The Royals sent Michael Wacha to the hill, hoping his seasonal success will deliver the club from elimination. Thankfully, Giancarlo Stanton stayed hot, and the Yankees offense played their game, pushing three runs to a win.
The takeaway in this win will go a long way. Gerrit Cole got back on track to his usual pitch-style and dominated on the mound. The right-hander started the series with a no decision, which ended up being a win for the Yankees.
His outing was concerning, due to Royals hitting him around with hard contact and quality at-bats. This time around, Cole came all the way back in many ways to shut down the Royals bats.
Gerrit Cole’s Performance One To Look Forward To In ALCS
The Yankees ace grinded through seven strong innings. He threw five innings of shutout baseball, giving up his first run in the sixth. This would be the only run the Royals would score.
Cole faced 26 batters and canceled 14 of those through defensive outs and strikeouts. He recorded six groundouts, four flyouts; his line included six hits, no walks, one earned-run, four strikeouts, and no home runs allowed.
The ace right-hander threw 87 pitches with 63 strikes. He recorded 12 called strikes, six swinging strikes, 23 foul balls, and 22 in-play strikes.
Where Did The Yankees Ace Gain Dominance?
Let’s start with the emphasis and power Cole maintained on the mound. Everything was repetitive and composed, with his demeanor, delivery, and pitch selections. He seemed to have been looser and fluent on the hill, and was able to reach back and deliver up to 98 mph on his fastball.
His four-seam fastball had rise and bite, working in and out of the zone. He threw 46 fastballs and commanded them very well, using all of the zones. The cutter was a relevant pitch in his outing. He used 10 cutters and placed them on the inside zone to multiple batters, taking away their hands. The cutter was up to 93.1 mph.
The knuckle curve was the second most used pitch, and this got hitters to roll over, moving their weight forward, causing ground outs. Cole threw 40 pitches off the zone, causing chase and staying out of any wheelhouses. Only 12 of his pitches were hard hit balls. Six were hit with emphasis but left only as non-damaged base hits.
Cole’s approach was evident, and he clearly had a game plan with this Royals lineup. This approach and pitch selection is what we didn’t quite see in game one of this series, but sure hope to see in the American League Championship Series.
The Yankees may be up against some streaky hitters in the next series. Detroit has some bats that can spray the field, along with base-to-base short game. The Cleveland Guardians bats are self-explanatory; these heavy hitters will require an arm like Cole to subdue the damage.
Main Photo Credits: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
