The largest crowd at Yankee Stadium since 2019 wanted to see Gerrit Cole in action on Sunday. However, the Yankees ace couldn’t even get through the fourth inning, and most of the 40,000+ people in attendance booed him off the field.
“I mean, it is what it is,” Cole said of the boos. “You sign up for it when you come here… it’s not a good feeling.”
In the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets, Cole had his shortest start since 2016 and Aroldis Chapman blew his third save in his last nine appearances. Both have struggled terribly since Major League Baseball cracked down on pitchers using ‘sticky stuff.’
Since June 3, Cole has allowed 20 earned runs and 10 home runs over 34.1 innings pitched. He has also walked 11 batters and his ERA over that span is 5.24.
“I mean, there’s been some good things in there, too. … This game reminds me of a little bit of the Tampa Bay game, I think early in the year where we got beat on change ups,” Cole said when asked if there was a relationship between the crackdown and his struggles. “By no means are those balls getting really rocked around the field.”
Chapman, who denied using any sticky substances, started his slide around the same time. Chapman has allowed 14 earned runs and five home runs in his last nine appearances, which includes four blown saves. Opponents are hitting .483 against him in that stretch. Keep in mind that he allowed just one earned run in his first 23 innings of the season.
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