Cole fans 6, allows 1 hit over 5 IP in scrimmage

NEW YORK – Each of Gerrit Cole’s actions are calculated in the hours before a game, avoiding any wasted movement that could hinder that evening’s goal. That was the case on Tuesday as the Yankees ace padded across the Yankee Stadium clubhouse carpet, steeling his focus as though this intrasquad contest was the real deal.

Cole devoured scouting reports for Mike Tauchman, Miguel Andújar and the rest of the "Bombers," then crouched behind the mound before his first pitch, running through a mental checklist of strengths and weaknesses. As Summer Camp continues, the Yankees are continuing to witness what makes Cole such a special addition.

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“He looks like he’s in midseason form already,” raved Luke Voit, who recently faced Cole in a simulated game. “They always say in the big leagues, you get one pitch a pitcher is going to miss. I faced him five times and I feel like I might have gotten one. He does his homework on us. He knows what he’s doing up there.”

In what Cole described as “the most game-like scenario” he has experienced since Spring Training halted in March, the right-hander struck out six of his teammates over five innings in a 67-pitch effort, issuing two walks and permitting only one hit -- a solo homer to Andújar in the first inning.

“Especially this time of year, you're more often than not trying to calm yourself down,” Cole said. “This is one of those where I was trying to get up and make sure that I was focused because you want to take it as business-like as you can. It was nice to see and feel the competitiveness on the field, and that's just testament to the guys. Everybody's bringing it, so we're all in the same boat there.”

Andújar’s gopher ball, a heater that Cole left over the heart of the plate, provided its own data for the hungry hurler to absorb. Cole had struck out Tauchman to start the game, and catcher Gary Sánchez tossed the ball around the horn, which -- under the new rules in this COVID-19 environment -- prompted the Yankees to flag it as one that should be removed from play.

Cole briefly protested, saying that he liked how the ball felt in his hand. He reluctantly accepted a replacement, which Andújar promptly deposited into the vacant right-field seats with a helicopter swing.

“We weren't exactly sure if we were supposed to keep it or not, so we kind of made a joke about it,” Cole said. “It looks like I probably should have kept it.”

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Though Michael King was preoccupied with his side of the matchup, spinning two scoreless innings against a lineup stocked with Yanks regulars, the young right-hander said that his admiration for Cole’s concentration has grown since they first crossed paths in February.

“He does not take a pitch off,” King said. “He said he wanted to be game-like every time he was on the mound, so even if it was only a 15-20 pitch bullpen, then every single pitch was full intensity. You see that on the mound even in these intrasquads; the first one of Spring Training 2.0 and he's mad at himself for missing pitches or not executing.”

That jibes with the experience that Aaron Judge shared, having taken hacks against Cole in a simulated game last week.

“When I stepped in the box the first time, I tried to give him a little, 'Hey G, How's it going?'” Judge said. “He just looked right through me. That shows you what type of competitor he is. It doesn't matter if it's practice or live BP or the game. He's the real deal.”

Cole retired the final 10 batters he faced after Andújar’s homer, saying that he was generally pleased with how his four pitches were spotted and with his in-game communication with Sánchez, though he acknowledged that he’d like to sharpen his fastball location before Opening Day.

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“That was the thing that was good to see; I thought his stuff was really good from start to finish,” manager Aaron Boone said. “In fact, in some ways that I felt like he got a little sharper in the rhythm, especially the slider there later.”

Cole’s July 23 outing against the defending World Series champion Nationals will come soon enough, but on a night when he attempted to simulate the sensation of working with something on the line, even he walked away surprised by how easily the adrenaline flowed.

“In terms of approaching the game, it was easy,” Cole said. “You know, there's two lineups and I was trying to win. Unfortunately, we lost.”