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By Noah Camras
Contributing Sports Writer
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Reigning American League Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole has looked far from his peak form in 2024.
Cole missed almost the first three months of the season after dealing with elbow inflammation in spring training. However, rather than undergoing season-ending surgery, he and the Yankees decided that rest was the best course of action to get him back on the field this season. They were right.
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On June 19, Cole finally returned to the mound, and looked solid against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing two earned runs across four innings with five strikeouts. However, it's been a struggle since.
On the year, Cole has made a total of seven starts and has been extremely inconsistent. He has three starts in which he's allowed just one earned run, and two in which he's allowed at least six earned runs, both coming against the New York Mets. He also struggled against the Boston Red Sox, allowing four earned runs.
On the year, Cole has a 5.40 ERA across his 35 innings of work. The Yankees had a bit of a scare, though, when he was scratched from his scheduled start on Tuesday with body fatigue.
Read more: Yankees Scratch Gerrit Cole From Start, Trade Reliever to Astros
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On Friday, ahead of the Yankees' series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, manager Aaron Boone provided an update on his ace. He said Cole was throwing a bullpen session on Friday, and assuming all goes well, he would start on Sunday against the Blue Jays.
Cole then told The Athletic's Chris Kirschner that all went well, and he's going to start on Sunday.
On Tuesday, after being scratched from the start, Cole told reporters he was "very fatigued" and "grinding a little bit." Boone also revealed that he's been dealing with a stomach virus.
"(Cole) hasn't recovered great this time through, and had a stomach bug there for a few days," Boone said Tuesday. "Add it all up, and I think he's just a little bit worn down. Especially with some of these off-days and (Will) Warren lined up, we felt it was best to push it back a few days. We'll see what we have the next couple of days and hopefully get him back in there this weekend."
Cole spoke about the decision to push his start back, too.
"It's just about putting a little more gas in the tank and being in a good position to take the ball next time and the time after that," Cole said Tuesday. "I really think that was the point of the decision."
It's good news for the Yankees that Cole is ready to start on Sunday. After not acquiring any starting pitchers at the deadline, the Yankees will be relying on Cole to return to form in the second half of the season.
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