Everyone Ruins Gerrit Cole’s Birthday. Cubs 2 Yanks 1

September 8, 2024 paperbacklou 2024 0

Everybody wished Gerrit Cole a Happy 34th Birthday, and then they all went out and ruined it on him.

  • Gleyber Torres made a key error in the 1st inning to cause the only 2 runs that Cole would allow in the game,
  • The Yankee offense only scored 1 run all afternoon,
  • Cubs outfielder Ian Happ made a couple of tremendous plays in the outfield to rob Yankees of hits, and
  • Jameson Taillon — the man Cole calls his “best friend in baseball” — shut down the Yankees for 6 innings to get the win over Cole.

Final score: Cubs 2 Yankees 1 on a beautiful, sunny but chilly Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Gerrit Cole‘s birthday.

“It was a fun matchup,” said Cole about his matchup against Taillon. “He pitched really well. I just didn’t make enough good pitches.”

Before the game, Cole revealed that Taillon is probably his best friend in baseball, and that they took a boat out with their wives this week as an early birthday gift for Cole.

NY wins the series against the Cubs, 2 games to 1, but drops to 82-61. The Yanks remain .5 ahead of Baltimore, which also lost. Chicago improves to 73-70.

1. Gleyber Error Leads to 2 Runs in 1st

Gleyber Torres was at again — another costly error — this one ended up costing Cole the ballgame. It came with 2 outs in the bottom of the 1st, and a runner on — a hard grounder by Cody Bellinger to 2nd to end the inning, but Gleyber booted it, then flipped to 2nd instead of steadying himself, picking up the ball and throwing to 1st where he might have gotten Bellinger.

It extended the inning — and a walk and a 2-RBI single by Isaac Paredes later — and Chicago was up 2-0. Those would be the only runs Cole and the Yankee pen would allow, and it would unfortunately end up being enough for a Chicago win.

2. Yanks Get Back a Run in 2nd

The Yanks immediately got back one of the runs, in the top of the 2nd against Jameson Taillon. Jazz Chisholm Jr.hit a 1-out double to right, and Anthony Rizzo singled him to 3rd. Anthony Volpe hit a sinking liner to left that appeared to drop in — but Ian Happ made a tremendous catch on it; Chisholm smartly held at 3rd, then tagged up and scored. Chicago 2 NY 1.

Alex Verdugo ended the inning by lining out to right — the Yanks coming ‘this close’ to having a big inning.

3. Best-Friend Taillon Ruins Cole’s Birthday

After that Taillon cruised, using his wide assortment of pitches including a cutter, sweeper, sinker, four-seam fastball, and NASTY curveball.

In the 6th, Giancarlo Stanton hit a high fly to center with 1 out — and centerfielder didn’t see it as he was blinded by the sun. It dropped in for a double, and the Yanks got Giancarlo to 3rd with 2 outs —  but Anthony Rizzo grounded out to 1st to end the inning. Taillon was done for the afternoon — 6 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 6 K’s, 1 walk– he gets the win to go 10-8 3.57.

4. Cole Cruised

Meanwhile Gerrit Cole, after the 31-pitch 1st inning due to Gleyber’s error on the 14th pitch, was beyond cruising — he was Smoking.

His easy-motion, four-seam fastball was whipping at 98 MPH and his 81-MPH knuckle curve was knuckling knees. And then the cutter and the changeup keeping batters confused and off balance.

Cole would finish with 6 innings, 3 hits, 2 unearned runs, 7 K’s, 1 walk — but lose to go 6-4 3.36.

5. Cousins a Shutout 7th

Jake Cousins came in and pitched an easy 7th, with is filthy slider, as usual. He got pop out, strike out, walk, and groundout.

6. Happ’s D in Left Killed Yanks

Ian Happ would continue to kill the Yanks all afternoon. He made the catch on Volpe in the 2nd, denying a single and a big inning.

In the top of the 8th with 2 outs, Austin Wells hit a bomb to left that Happ caught leaping at the wall, falling into the ivy.

7. Holmes Pitches Shutout 8th

Manager Aaron Boone brought Clay Holmes in for the 8th — a non pressure situation after the horrid blown save earlier in the week, when Holmes allowed a walk-off grand slam, and then lost his closer role to Luke Weaver.

Holmes pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the last 2 batters.

8. Yanks 9th Inning Rally Falls Short

Porter Hodge came into the 2-1 game to close in the 9th, and got Stanton and Chisholm for the first 2 outs.

Hodge went 3-2 on Anthony Rizzo and the Yanks were down to their final strike. But Rizzo worked a walk, and Duke Ellis came in to run for him.

Ellis stole 2nd, and was in scoring position for Anthony Volpe. But Volpe struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch (as Ellis was in process of stealing 3rd) for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401570616

 

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