The Yankees And Ace Gerrit Cole Win The Tale Of The Tape, As They Are Set To Win Their First Sweep Of 2021

  April 24, 2021 will went down in the record as game three of a four game set at Progressive Field between the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees, but more importantly, it went down as a rematch between the Indians' and the Yankees' aces since they last met in the game 1 of the Wildcard Series last year.  

  In a Saturday evening showdown at Progressive Field, while the Yankee offense continued to push on, but the story of the night had to be duel out on the mound. Both Shane Bieber and Gerrit Cole matched each other all night, but Cole managed to out edge the reigning Cy Young in the rematch.

  If you missed the game, N.Y. Insights has you covered with pitching stats on the night:

Cole: 111 pitches through 7 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 0/11 (BB/K)

Bieber: 119 pitches through 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 3/9 (BB/K)

  Overall, the duel between the two aces was as advertised. It was power matching power on the mound all night. In the end, the Yankees pounded the strike zone to fan 11 batters.

  "I thought Cole was terrific in a game where we needed him to be really, really good, because we were up against a really good one as well...”-Manager Aaron Boone

  Before the game, fellow New York starter (and Cole’s former Pirates teammate) Jameson Taillon had this to say about his long time friend and teammate:

    "Gerrit’s always fiery....Like we could be playing a Spring Training game against a high school team and Gerrit’s going to be ready and he’s going to be fired up....”

  Since joining the Yanks, Cole has been the opposite of "fiery", as Taillon put it, the ace has instead been all about business and perfection every time he meeets with the media and when he takes the ball.

  To put into perspective, Cole has now struck out at least seven batters in 14 consecutive starts, a franchise record. He also raised his season punch-out total to 50, the most by a Yankees pitcher through five starts. Lights-out type of stuff.

  While fans may see him as a phenom, Cole is always looking to improve his astonishing pitching arsenal. He had a lot to say about the number of times Cleveland's batting order worked him into deep counts. He told the media that he'd “like to clean up, sooner rather than later...” All and all, the seven times Cole faced a three-ball count, only one batter reached safely. He also struck out four of those batters.

  According to Cole, he said:

  "I think we just made some good pitches when we had to...”

  Unfortunately, Cole’s lone blemish came in the fourth inning, when he allowed a pair of hits in succession. The first one was a near-homer by José Ramírez, who lifted a curveball to right. Aaron Judge knocked the ball down with his glove at the top of the wall, but he couldn’t make the grab, allowing Ramirez to leg out a triple. Coming into the game, the scouting report showed that Jose Ramirez was 2-for-13, 2 B, HR, 4 RBI, 4 K. In the next at-bat, Eddie Rosario connected with another breaking pitch to left field for an RBI single, giving Cleveland a 1-0 lead. 

  Besides that, Cole was practically perfect. He allowed one other baserunner (a one-out double by Roberto Pérez in the third) and struck out seven of Cleveland’s hitters at least once. The collection of lengthy at-bats meant that Cole was fighting his own pitch count on the mound at the time, but he needed only 38 pitches over his final three innings, retiring all nine batters.  

To The Offensive Power Of The Yankee

  Although the story of the night was the dominant performance of Cole, the offense did come through as well.  

  Against Bieber, the Yankees’ offense kept working their hot bats. They’ve muscled seven home runs in three games this series, after hitting only six in their previous seven games. Aaron Hicks and Rougned Odor each hit a solo homer in the fifth, which accounted for all of the New York run production that was needed to win. Against Bieber, the Yankees’ offense kept up its homer-happy ways. They’ve clobbered seven home runs in three games this series, after hitting only six in their previous seven games. Aaron Hicks and Rougned Odor each hit a solo homer in the fifth, accounting for all of New York’s run production.

   Both homers were special in their own right. For the switch-hitting Hicks, he earned his first extra-base hit from the left side of the plate this season (he entered Saturday slashing .100/.234/.100 in 47 plate appearances as a lefty). As for Odor, the go-ahead solo blast was his fourth hit that either tied the game or put the Yankees ahead (out of seven total hits) since joining the team.

  With that said, the Yankees have experience their first 3-game winning streak this season and they will go for the sweep this afternoon against the Tribe at Progressive Field, before they head to Camden Yard to bash against the Baltimore Birds.