NEW YORK -- Gerrit Cole walked off the mound during the fifth inning Saturday, his outing against the New York Mets cut maddeningly short, to some boos from the home crowd after allowing five runs on nine hits, including three home runs.
Beyond the loud contact, however, was another, more gnawing, layer of frustration for the right-hander: Cole, one of the most cerebral pitchers in the majors, could not make the proper adjustments to pitch deeper into the game. Afterward, he said answers eluded him.
"I think it's something that we gotta figure out for sure," Cole said after the 12-2 loss. "And it's just one of those times in the season, I think you gotta start making adjustments."
Cole has now given up seven home runs over his last two starts, the most he's yielded in a two-start span in his career. But his previous start against the San Diego Padres, when he surrendered four home runs last Sunday, was different. In that outing, each of the homers was a solo shot. The first three were hit back-to-back-to-back in the first inning. The fourth wasn't added until the seventh inning. Cole adjusted, completed seven frames, and emerged encouraged.
On Saturday, Francisco Lindor led the game with a home run, Luis Torrens lined a two-run shot in the second inning, and Carson Benge cracked a solo homer in the third. Benge added an RBI single in the fifth inning to chase Cole after 4 ⅓ frames. It is his shortest start since he tossed four innings in early June in his fourth start in his return from Tommy John surgery. He now owns a 7.28 ERA in 10 career starts against the Mets, his worst career ERA against any club.
The Yankees took the field Saturday with a chance to clinch a postseason berth with a win and a Toronto Blue Jays loss later Saturday. They'll have to wait until at least Sunday to seal their spot.
"We were able to adapt last week, in game to respond," Cole said. "This week, we just got bled out, really, and didn't get deep. ...It's all different offerings. It's different sequences. It's tough to pin down."
Saturday marked the 36-year-old Cole's 20th start of the season. He's logged 115 ⅓ innings in his first action since 2024. He emphasized that he "felt great" and health or a tired arm is not the issue.
Velocity certainly wasn't the issue Saturday. His four-seam fastball averaged 96.9 mph -- on par with his season average -- and reached 98.7 mph. And yet he induced just three whiffs on 40 swings -- and none with his four-seamer. On the season, his whiff rate is 22.3%, continuing a steady decline since posting a 34.1% whiff rate in 2022.
"I think just in general, yeah, it's been a little bit of a challenge," Cole said. "I think it's hard to compare to previous years without pitching with the ABS [challenge system]. I think maybe chase and swing and miss across the board is down. So trying to find where those numbers would be relative to this environment is something that we need to navigate."
The average whiff rate across the majors is down from 25.3% to 25% this season, meaning Cole's is below average. With 14 regular season games in 15 days remaining, Cole has, at most, two starts to find the solution to reverse the trend before the playoffs. He and those around him are confident he'll figure it out.
"I expect him to be right next time," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.