Cole feels strong, says command will come

TAMPA, Fla. -- Gerrit Cole wore his full white pinstripes atop the mound at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Sunday afternoon, a wardrobe choice made for the benefit of a television audience more than 1,000 miles away. In 11 days, the Yankees ace will be back in the Bronx, and he promises to be ready.

It was not a tidy outing for the right-hander, who served up home runs to Diego Castillo and Cole Tucker in the Yankees’ 7-4 Grapefruit League victory over the Pirates. Cole was charged with four runs (three earned) on four hits, walking one and striking out five in a 50-pitch effort.

“I’ve got good enough stuff to compete,” Cole said. “We’ve just got to get it in the zone. Just execute, control a handful more of those spots, and we’ll be in a good spot.”

Cole -- who had only thrown in bullpens and live batting practice -- anticipates throwing 65 to 70 pitches in his next outing, which would build his stamina to the 85-pitch range for his scheduled April 7 assignment against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

“I thought he was good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I was really pleased with his stuff, the quality of his fastball. He didn’t have the strike-throwing down exactly or the command dialed in how he’s going to, but I also think he’s working on a couple of things.”

After a clean 14-pitch first inning in which he struck out two, Cole issued a leadoff walk to Roberto Pérez, then recorded an out before Castillo clubbed a 96.5 mph fastball over the right-field wall for an opposite-field two-run homer. Tucker greeted Cole in the third inning by slugging an 88.3 mph changeup over the wall in right.

“Overall, I got a lot of those pitches mostly defined,” Cole said. “I was able to get some sliders over the plate, a strikeout, finishing guys with good fastballs. The changeup, I threw one really poor one that left the park. Outside of that, everything was executed well. We just couldn’t get them to be as aggressive as we wanted.”

Like all pitchers, Cole was subject to inspection by the umpiring crew, which received offseason training to look for sticky substances. Cole said that the new brands of rosin being supplied, offering some tack for hurlers, should be helpful.

“I like that it’s uniform across the league,” Cole said. “You know what you’re getting when you show up to the park.”

Internet sensation
The most-watched video on the Yankees’ TikTok account does not feature Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton. It stars Max McDowell, a 28-year-old catcher who split last season between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and has now amassed more than 7.7 million views on a clip that happened entirely by accident.

McDowell was catching in a Minor League scrimmage at the Yankees’ player development complex in February when a pitch skipped under his right thigh, nestling perfectly into the palm of his right hand, tucked behind his back. McDowell did not miss a beat, instantly returning the ball to the pitcher.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime freak accident,” McDowell said. “The funniest thing is that people think it was on purpose. I whiffed on a slider and the next thing I knew, it was in my hand. So I decided to throw it, and then I turned around and was like, ‘Did anyone see that?’”

Fortunately for Internet posterity, the Yankees had cameras rolling on the at-bat -- one from center field and another from the first-base dugout.

“It’s probably gone viral three times now,” McDowell said. “I posted it, and then a bunch of people got a hold of it. Now the Yankees reposted everything, and I’m leading Yankees TikTok by millions. It’s been awesome; a lot of people have reached out to say, ‘Hey, is this you?’ It’s been cool to have engagements with a lot of people that have followed my career.”

My favorite Marwin
Marwin Gonzalez believed he would have enough time to win a spot on the Yankees’ bench, even with an abbreviated spring. The veteran switch-hitter might be proven right, as he belted his second home run of the spring on Sunday.

In camp as a non-roster invitee, Gonzalez has stroked three hits in eight at-bats (.375) with five RBIs. The 33-year-old offers extreme versatility, having appeared at every position but catcher during his Major League career.

“I don’t think you necessarily expect the results right away like he’s gotten, but he’s putting together some really good at-bats,” Boone said. “He clearly came in ready to go physically. The work he was able to do behind the scenes as far as getting live at-bats, that’s paid off. From what we’ve seen in a small little snapshot, to me, it looks like the Marwin Gonzalez that we’ve seen all these years. He can get to a heater.”