Gerrit Cole returned from Tommy John surgery and delivered again, throwing six scoreless innings plus for a 7-0 Yankees win over the Kansas City Royals. Cole struck out 10, walked none, and the Yankees stretched their win streak to 14 straight against Kansas C
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gerrit Cole walked out Wednesday night knowing the verdict had already landed. Another clean start, another statement from a pitcher who’s been waiting a long time to get back on track.
“This is small sample size,” Cole said, carefully keeping expectations in check after a second dominant performance in his long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery.
The numbers were hard to ignore anyway. Against the struggling Royals, the 35-year-old allowed four hits while striking out 10 batters and issuing zero walks as the Yankees rolled to a 7-0 victory. It was their 14th straight win over Kansas City.
Cole’s return began with promise in his first major league start since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series against the Dodgers. He shut down Tampa Bay after allowing two hits over six scoreless innings. Wednesday, he went even further in control and efficiency, needing only 79 pitches to get through 6 2/3 innings against Kansas City.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised the feel of that performance, describing it like a plan executed exactly as drawn.
“It was surgical,” Boone said. “You saw everything, like, good fastball, both breaking balls going, mixed in the cutter a little bit, made some really good change-ups along the way. There was good defensive plays behind him early and then he kind of cruised.”
Boone also made the point that the Yankees weren’t trying to rush the moment. With Cole’s once-ailing right elbow back in the mix, there was no incentive to test what comes next.
“He probably could have gone deeper,” Boone’s comments carried, even as the decision was clear: there was “no reason to push” Cole’s elbow when the season is still long.
The closest Kansas City came to changing the night came in the third inning. Michael Massey led off the frame with a one-out double. Cole responded by striking out Isaac Collins, then Maikel Garcia came up.
Garcia ripped a single to right field, and Aaron Judge fielded a tough hop cleanly. Judge then fired a perfect throw to catch Massey at the plate for the final out of the inning, keeping the Royals scoreless.
Cole stranded Garcia again in the sixth after a two-out double. In the seventh, Salvador Perez singled off him, but the inning ended before Kansas City could mount anything meaningful.
That was the story: runners got there only briefly, and Cole never let them finish the job.
“It reminds you of who he is, and how great a consistent pitcher he is,” Boone said. “And to see him go through the process the last several months to get back to this, and go out there and execute like he is here to start, it’s fun to watch.”
Cole’s control stood out most at the edges of each at-bat. He threw 96 mph fastballs and set the tone early by firing first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 23 batters he faced. Throughout the night, only a couple of batters even managed to push the count to three balls.
Cole acknowledged the expectation that comes with being dominant, while also refusing to treat perfection as the goal.
“I expect to execute pitches. I don’t necessarily expect to not give up any runs, especially on 75 percent strikes,” Cole said. “You’re putting a lot of pressure on guys. So you have to play good defence, which is what we did tonight.”
The Yankees didn’t give him much margin. Their scoring early started with a Paul Goldschmidt single. followed by Ben Rice’s triple and a sacrifice fly from Aaron Judge. After Cole departed. the offence added runs. but the broader difference was that the Yankees didn’t need a huge output while Cole was that sharp.
The offence wasn’t as explosive as it had been Tuesday night, when the Yankees delivered a memorable 15-1 win featuring six home runs and 24 hits. That game also included an unusual milestone for the franchise: every player in the New York starting lineup finished with at least two hits.
Wednesday looked different, and it didn’t have to be the same.
“It’s two games,” Cole said. “Small sample size. We still have stuff to improve, and just have to keep the same mindset that we have right now, and that’s to take it one outing at a time.”
Gerrit Cole Yankees Royals MLB Tommy John surgery Aaron Boone Aaron Judge Ben Rice Paul Goldschmidt Maikel Garcia Michael Massey Isaac Collins Salvador Perez strikeouts