Gerrit Cole was crisp, sharp and efficient in his return from COVID-19 on Monday night against the Angels at Yankee Stadium.
The only question was how many pitches manager Aaron Boone would allow his ace to throw in his first start since July 29.
The answer: 90.
Boone took out Cole with two outs in the sixth inning and the Yankees leading the Angels, 2-1. Cole was on his way to a 1-2-3 inning when third baseman Rougned Odor booted a slow grounder hit by Justin Upton for an error.
With lefthanded cleanup man Jared Walsh due, Boone replaced Cole with struggling lefthander Zack Britton.
Britton struck out Walsh to the end inning.
Cole’s final line: 5 2/3 innings, two hits, one run, one walk and nine strikeouts.
Other than Cole’s pitch limit, the other intrigue in Monday’s makeup game from a July 1 rainout came when the righthander faced MLB home run leader Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani, batting leadoff for the Angels, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against Cole.
Ohtani led off the sixth with a moonshot to right-center that got the fans out of their seats and looked as if it might be his 40th homer. But Giancarlo Stanton caught the drive on the lip of the warning track.
Cole’s first pitch of the game was a 99-mile per hour fastball that Ohtani swung through. On 2-and-2, another 99-mph heater that the AL MVP front-runner missed for strike three.
The second batter, David Fletcher, also struck out on a fastball, this one at 98.
Cole fell behind Upton 3-and-0 before throwing a strike. On 3-and-1, Cole fired another 98-mph fastball, but Upton crushed it into the leftfield seats.
Cole recovered to strike out Walsh on a high 3-and-2 changeup to end the inning.
The lesson that pitchers should try to get ahead was also on display in the bottom half of the first. Angels starter Jose Suarez fell behind Joey Gallo 3-and-1 before giving up a laser of a two-run homer into the second deck in right for a 2-1 Yankees lead. It was Gallo’s fourth home run as a Yankee and 29th overall this season.
In the second, Cole worked around a leadoff infield single by Phil Gosselin. After a soft comebacker moved Gosselin to second, Cole blew away Brandon Marsh, striking him out on three pitches. The third was a 100-mph fastball that Marsh watched go by without offering.
Cole struck out Max Stassi on a 98-mph fastball to end the inning.
In the third, Cole went to 3-and-2 on No. 9 hitter Jo Adell before striking the rookie out on a 98-mile per hour fastball. Ohtani hit a fly ball to right and Fletcher grounded out to first.
The fourth inning was another 1-2-3: strikeout, strikeout, grounder to third against the 3-4-5 hitters in the Angels’ order.
Cole came out for the fifth having thrown 60 pitches. He issued a one-out walk to Marsh — choosing to throw a slider on 3-and-2 — to end a streak of batters retired at 10.
Cole went back to the slider to strike out Stassi for the second out. Adell, one of the top prospects in baseball, then sent a rocket to right-center that Jonathan Davis ran down and caught with a leap on the warning track. Off the bat, it looked like a game-tying double.
The Yankees are also getting back lefthander Jordan Montgomery from the COVID-19 list. He will start one of Tuesday’s split doubleheader games against Boston.
Cole said he felt sick during his bout with COVID, but Montgomery said he did not. Montgomery said his arm feels “incredible” after the time off.
Rookie Luis Gil will start the other game on Tuesday. Lefthander Andrew Heaney will face the Red Sox on Wednesday.
