World Series: Yankees never seriously considered starting Gerrit Cole in Game 4 vs. Ddogers

Gerrit Cole coming back on short rest simply wasn’t going to happen.

Even with their backs squarely against the wall Tuesday night — trailing the World Series against the Dodgers three-games-to-none — the Yankees never seriously discussed having Cole, who threw six terrific innings in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, come back on short rest for Game 4.

And that decision was made well before the Yankees lost Game 3, 4-2.

“Not that much,” Aaron Boone said before Tuesday night’s game of how much organizational thought was spent considering Cole on short rest. “That is not something I want to do with Gerrit this year, with what he’s been through. No.”

Instead, it was American League Rookie of the Year candidate Luis Gil taking the mound trying to extend the Yankees’ season to a Game 5 Wednesday night, that one, with a win in Game 4, to be started by Cole.

The Yankees have used Cole on short rest one time previously — in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Rays in 2020. That was the COVID-19 postseason, with that best-of-five series played at a neutral site, San Diego’s Petco Park. Cole earned the win in Game 1 of that series, a 9-3 victory, and was brought back on three days’ rest for the deciding Game 5. Cole, pitching on short rest for the first and only time in his career, threw well that night in San Diego, allowing one run, one hit and two walks over 5 1/3 innings in which he struck out nine. The game, of course, is best remembered for Mike Brosseau’s bottom-of-the-eighth homer off Aroldis Chapman that gave the Rays a 2-1 victory.

But that was a different Cole. He was 30 then and is now 34. More significant, and Boone sounded a similar note regarding this before Tuesday night’s game, Cole started this season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation and did not make his first start until June 19.

“With what he’s gone through this year to get back, the real things he dealt with missing the first few months, I don’t think him on three days’ rest serves us well,” Boone said Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve got to win more than today. So it wasn’t a consideration with what he’s had to go through and how well he’s done in working through this the back half of the year.”

Speaking before Tuesday night’s game, Cole said “I didn’t have any conversations” regarding coming back for Game 4, which didn’t mean the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner wouldn’t have been open to it.

“I feel great right now,” Cole said. “I'm available whenever the team wants me to pitch. There's nothing preventing me from pitching if the team wants me to pitch.”

Cole said of his preparation for a game that he’s not guaranteed to pitch has been the same, it obviously contingent upon the Yankees winning Tuesday.

“I just assume I'm going to start it,” Cole said.

He had his share of ups and downs after returning to the rotation in mid-June, finishing 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts. He was far better at season’s end, going 5-3 with a 2.15 ERA over his last nine starts. He’s 1-0 with a 2.82 ERA in four starts this postseason.

“I feel now like I'm in good shape. I have a reserve while I'm pitching. So if I need to dip into the tank, I can go get it, and then I can go get it again. It's not like a one-time thing,” Cole said. “And then familiarity both with myself and my delivery, how I'm moving, how well I'm concentrating the ball in the areas of the strike zone that I want to get. I'm not missing east and west very rarely anymore. Things are more defined.”

As were things for the Yankees entering Tuesday night. In order for Cole to have a chance to help send the World Series back to Dodger Stadium for Game 6, the Yankees needed to win.

“I think regardless of the situation, you don't want to be looking ahead, right?” Cole said. “So you're in Game 1, certainly you have dreams about winning the World Series, certainly you know the other outcome, losing the World Series. But the challenge is to just focus on Game 1 and try to win that game starting with the first pitch. . . . Well, guess what? We had to win four going into Game 1. In that respect, things haven't changed that much. So it's one game at a time, one pitch at a time.”