MINNEAPOLIS — Gerrit Cole stuck it to Josh Donaldson and the Twins.
After the Twins third baseman took on the Yankees ace in baseball’s latest looming scandal, strongly suggesting the right-hander of using illegal foreign substances to increase his spin rate, Cole whiffed Donaldson in each of his first two at-bats.
It was the most interesting part of another lopsided victory for the Yankees over the hapless Twins, 9-6.
“I mean, he’s a former MVP and a big cog in the lineup,’’ Cole said of getting the best of Donaldson. “Just the satisfaction of executing pitches in that spot and putting the team in a better position to win was enough.”
Cole was strong on another steamy night at Target Field, overwhelming not just Donaldson, but much of the Twins lineup — even though his spin rate was down once again, according to Baseball Savant.
The spin rate on his four-seamer was down (from an average of 2,552 rotations per minute to 2,493). And it dropped more with his slider (2,708 average to 2,621 Wednesday), while they were up on his knuckle-curve and — especially — his changeup (which went from an average of 1,745 RPM to 1,870).
In his previous start — the one Donaldson referenced — the dips were even more drastic and consistent. What the differences are due to, only Cole knows for sure.
On Wednesday, he declined to get into whether he was using anything more or less than in previous starts, saying it wasn’t the proper forum.
Asked if he believed the outing would put the issue to rest, Aaron Boone said, “Look, who knows? The one thing I know is he’s an amazing pitcher and tremendous competitor. When all this dust settles and wherever the story goes, that ain’t changing. I thought his effort, with all the distractions going on, he went out there and showed you who he was.”
And that’s at the center of the current controversy among hitters, pitchers and Major League Baseball.
The league is set to crack down on pitchers’ use of foreign substances, and Donaldson singled out Cole for his recent reduced spin rate in the wake of suspensions in the minor leagues and the impending crackdown in the majors.
“I don’t regret it,” Donaldson said before the game of his previous comments about Cole. “I’ll say this: Gerrit Cole was the first guy to pitch since the suspensions happened and he was the first guy who we could see spin rates going down. Since Gerrit pitched, there have been 12 or more guys already whose spin rates have drastically dropped in the last week. So it’s not just Gerrit.”
Cole, though, likely doesn’t need anything extra to beat cellar-dwelling Minnesota, so the impact of the changes in enforcement remain to be seen.
Cole did allow two solo homers, but it didn’t matter on Wednesday, as the Yankees knocked around Randy Dobnak for eight runs in 4 ²/₃ innings.
Giancarlo Stanton snapped out of his recent funk with two home runs and a double off Dobnak in the first five innings. Aaron Judge also homered and doubled versus Dobnak, and Miguel Andujar homered for the fifth time in his last eight games.
There were boos from the polite Minnesota crowd when Cole’s name was announced before the game, but not much during the game itself.
Cole put Donaldson away with a 1-2 knuckle-curve after Donaldson waved at a 100-mph four-seamer.
Cole appeared to stare down Donaldson after the strikeout.
The result was the same in the third, as Cole got Donaldson swinging again. In the sixth, Donaldson flied out.
Cole allowed two runs, while striking out nine and walking none in the 94-pitch outing.
“That’s what an ace does,’’ Aaron Judge said. “Nothing really fazes that guy.”
It was Cole’s highest strikeout total since he whiffed a dozen batters in eight shutout innings against the Rays on May 12.
The Yankees had the game well in hand until Brooks Kriske gave up four runs in the ninth, forcing Aroldis Chapman to get up in the bullpen before Kriske finished it.
Article From & Read More ( Embattled Gerrit Cole quiets Josh Donaldson as Yankees clip Twins - New York Post )https://ift.tt/3vjaNrX
Sports
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Embattled Gerrit Cole quiets Josh Donaldson as Yankees clip Twins - New York Post"
Post a Comment