Cole earns nod as finalist for AL Cy Young

NEW YORK -- Gerrit Cole entered the season’s final month as the front-runner for the American League Cy Young Award, and the Yankees right-hander claimed a spot among the game’s top pitchers on Monday, as he was named a finalist for the coveted prize.

In his second season with the Yankees, Cole went 16-8 with two complete games and a 3.23 ERA, limiting opponents to a .223 batting average. The fireballer presented one of the toughest matchups for opponents, recording 243 strikeouts against 41 walks in 181 1/3 innings.

• All-time Cy Young winners

A left hamstring injury hindered Cole’s effectiveness down the stretch, allowing the Blue Jays’ Robbie Ray to close the gap in the hardware chase. Cole appeared to have a clear advantage on Sept. 1, when he bested the Angels in Anaheim to improve to 14-6 with a 2.73 ERA in 25 starts.

Cole, Ray and Lance Lynn of the White Sox are the finalists for the Cy Young Award, which will be announced Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

Though Cole pitched to a 6.15 ERA over his final five regular-season starts -- then was knocked out after two innings in the AL Wild Card Game -- the 31-year-old paced the AL in victories and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.93). Cole ranked second in the AL in strikeouts, K’s per nine innings (12.06) and WHIP (1.06).

Cole finished third in the AL in ERA and fifth in walks per nine innings (2.04). His 243 strikeouts were the second most in a single season by a Yankees pitcher, trailing only Ron Guidry’s 248 strikeouts in 1978.

Cole’s nine double-digit strikeout games tied David Cone (1998) for the most in franchise history and were the second most in the Majors this year, behind Ray (10).

In 2019, Cole finished second to then-Astros teammate Justin Verlander in a tight AL Cy Young race. Also a top-five finisher in ‘15 with Pittsburgh and ‘18 with Houston, Cole placed fourth in Cy Young voting following his New York debut in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.