Gerrit Cole Turns In Best Start of 2023, Yankees Offense Finally Breaks Out in Extras in 4-2 Win

Cole Dominant, Pitches 7 Scoreless

Gerrit Cole turned in one of his best performances of the 2023 regular season on Sunday afternoon, shutting down the Athletics offense for seven scoreless innings. Cole allowed just two hits and walked none while striking out nine batters. It was Cole's longest outing of the season and his first quality start since April 22nd against the Chicago Cubs.

Cole's outing was all the more impressive considering he was facing a tough Oakland Athletics lineup that entered the game ranked 10th in the American League in runs scored. The A's had also won four of their last six games coming into the series against the Yankees.

But Cole was up to the task, mixing his fastball, slider, and changeup effectively and keeping the A's hitters off balance all day. Cole also got good run support from his offense, as the Yankees scored four runs in the top of the 10th inning to take the lead.

Yankees Offense Finally Breaks Out

The Yankees offense has been struggling for much of the 2023 season, but they finally broke out in a big way in the 10th inning on Sunday. After Aaron Judge led off the inning with a single, Anthony Rizzo doubled him home to tie the game at 2-2. Giancarlo Stanton then followed with a two-run homer to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.

It was a much-needed offensive outburst for the Yankees, who had scored just 13 runs in their previous four games. The Yankees offense is still not clicking on all cylinders, but Sunday's performance was a step in the right direction.

Win Improves Yankees Record to 23-24

The win improves the Yankees' record to 23-24 on the season. The Yankees are now 6-4 in their last 10 games and are just 1.5 games out of first place in the AL East. The Yankees will look to continue their winning ways when they face the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series starting on Monday night.