Gerrit Cole Checked All the Boxes, Dealing in Opening Day Preview

DUNEDIN, Fla. — If Sunday was any indication, Yankees' ace Gerrit Cole is having no trouble positioning himself for Opening Day.

New York's right-hander was dealing over five innings on the road against the Blue Jays, striking out eight while allowing only one run to score on four hits. He threw 78 pitches, one penultimate step closer to when he takes the ball in pinstripes on April 1. 

"Gerrit was great. Had everything going, stuff-wise was really good," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said following an 8-3 victory. "Had a good amount of his adrenaline going, got his pitch count up to where it needed to be. I thought he really executed all of his pitches in a pretty good fashion. Another good building block for him."

Entering his fourth start of the spring, Cole's goal was to reach the 75-pitch mark and work through five innings. Despite a light drizzle and chilly winds passing through TD Ballpark in Dunedin, the right-hander checked off both of those boxes. 

Now, Cole can continue to ramp up to his final outing of the spring next week.

"I think it's just continue to push a little bit, but understand that you're pretty much right there," Cole said on Sunday. "It's just a little bit of feel, take it one step at a time next start and see where we're at."

Over four appearances in Grapefruit League play, and 12.2 innings pitched, Cole has posted a 3.55 ERA. He's given up a handful of long balls this spring—including a solo shot off the bat of Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien on Sunday—but limited the damage by utilizing his four-pitch mix.

At one point, Cole reached 100 mph with his fastball, routinely blowing the heater by Toronto's best hitters. He was also able to mix in his breaking pitches, getting swings and misses late in the count. 

When asked about facing the same lineup he'll oppose in less than two weeks in the Bronx, Cole didn't acknowledge one way or another if that experience was beneficial or not. Instead, he explained that he was more focused on the balance between getting batters out while working on different pitches and sequences since we're still in spring training. 

For instance, he admitted to throwing some pitches he normally wouldn't have picked in certain situations as a way to get more comfortable and get ready for when these outings actually count.

"As you're continuing to build up, it's important to make sure you hit the threshold of the amount of mix that you want to bring out to the regular season, while also throwing the [right] amount of pitches," Cole said. "You're always juggling that in spring training, regardless of how early or how late you are. In the regular season, it's just about outs. As we get closer, it's about as close as you can get to a regular season before it is the regular season."

Cole is due to pitch one more time on Friday night against the Orioles at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Then he'll have six days—an additional day of rest than he normally would—to prepare for Game 1 of the regular season on April 1.

After a unique campaign last year, featuring the fewest starts (12) and innings (73) the 30-year-old has had in a single season through his eight-year big-league career, the ace isn't worried about how many innings he'll throw in 2021. 

"My goal every year is to go deep into games and make as many starts as I'm asked." Cole said. 

The right-hander has previously articulated this spring that the goal is to be ready to throw 100 pitches on Opening Day. With a five-inning performance now under his belt, nearly eclipsing the 80-pitch mark, he's right on track for next month and beyond.

MORE:

• Yankees' Gary Sánchez Will Catch Gerrit Cole on Opening Day
• Aaron Boone's Message to Mike Ford, Optioned Yankees: Stay 'Sharp and Ready'
• 'I'll Be Ready': Excitement Builds For Clint Frazier Ahead of First Opening Day

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