Since mid-June, the Yankees’ pitching has been a rollercoaster of average and under-par performances. Their poor run during that period falls as much on the shoulders of the pitchers—both bullpen and starting rotation—as it does on the offense.
However, things have been turning around lately, and a lot of that credit goes to Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who has rediscovered his groove, and the 2023 AL Cy Young winner won’t keep all credit to himself.
Last evening, Gerrit Cole notched his third straight win throwing six scoreless, handing it off to the bullpen, which completed the shutout, blanking Detroit in a 3-0 victory.
The Yankees’ offense did just enough, with an Alex Verdugo sac fly, a homer from Oswald Peraza in his first start of 2024, and Aaron Judge blasting his 44th of the season.
With 8 strikeouts, this was one of Gerrit Cole’s stronger outings this season, helping the Yankees take the lead in Major League Baseball with a .593 record (73-50) despite a rough, four-week-long stretch before the All-Star break.
The first half of the season was largely dominated by the Yankees’ rotation, spearheaded by rookie sensation Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, who is now on the IL.
Carlos Rodón has been a bit topsy-turvy, though delivering a few outstanding performances since the break, while Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman have been a bit more hit-or-miss.
Amid all this, while the Yankees’ rotation has received both praise and criticism, the Yankees’ backstops have flown under the radar, deserving far more credit for their defense than they’ve gotten.
Offensively, Austin Wells, who began the season as more of a backup catcher has locked down the cleanup spot in the batting order since Jose Trevino went on the IL.
Wells has been on an offensive tear. Last night, Trevino made his return and put in a solid performance behind the plate and with the bat, and Gerrit Cole was quick to recognize that, before acknowledging his own outing.
“I felt pretty good tonight, I had nice cruising speed, I walked too many guys but command was there for the most part and made big pitches in situations with runners in scoring position, and executed pitches throughout the evening so it was good. Trevvy seemed like he didn’t lose a beat, [he] hasn’t played at this level in a while but I thought he was reading swings well and picked some really good pitches.”
Cole gets em looking and finishes 6 shutout innings pic.twitter.com/6lGX5Jnzd0
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 17, 2024
Cole didn’t just stop at praising Jose Trevino, who returned from the IL last night. He also gave a special shoutout to Wells, highlighting the rookie’s impressive performance and the responsibility he’s taken on this season.
Cole didn’t forget to mention backup catcher Carlos Narvaez, acknowledging the Yankees’ depth and talent behind the plate.
“It’s a blessing to be a pitcher for the Yankees. Narváez came up and did an excellent job when Trevvy was down, Wells has been anchoring that position for the last few months and obviously Trevvy is a platinum glove winner. We’re kind of spoilt…”
Cole was all smiles after his dominance tonight pic.twitter.com/aRkRnpbxVV
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 17, 2024
Wells and Trevino rank 3rd and 5th in the league in catcher framing runs, making them invaluable assets to the Yankees’ pitching staff. Add to that the offensive contributions they bring to the table, and you’ve got a duo that’s crucial to a Yankees lineup often reliant on the big bats of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
With Trevino back, Wells may see relatively lesser playing time, and while that may upset a few Yankees fans, bench depth is never a bad thing. Cole finding his groove again is crucial to the remainder of the Yankees season, and a soon-approaching post-season.
