NEW YORK – In explaining the choice to activate Gerrit Cole rather than have him continue making rehab starts in the Minors, the Yankees said that four innings from their ace would be preferable to what they might squeeze from anyone else they plugged into the rotation.

That reasoning made sense, but as he completed his second big league start of the season, Cole appeared nowhere near his form as the American League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner. Enduring one of the roughest starts of his career, Cole permitted four homers in the Yankees’ 9-7 Subway Series loss to the Mets on Tuesday evening at Citi Field.

“It’s a bit like driving a car,” Cole said. “Too much clutch or too little clutch can slip you out of gear a little bit. It came out really tremendous in the first [inning] and we had to make a lot of pitches, but the reality is, we just weren’t in the strike zone enough.”

Aaron Judge hit an eighth-inning grand slam for his Major League-leading 29th homer, but the Yankees could not close the gap further. It was Judge's 11th homer in 22 career games against the Mets, but the Bombers fell for the eighth time in 11 games as they reached their official halfway point of the regular-season schedule.

Mark Vientos homered twice, Harrison Bader went deep and Brandon Nimmo slugged a two-run blast off Cole, who had previously allowed four or more home runs in a game just once: on June 9, 2022, at Minnesota, when Cole permitted five.

He also did not record a strikeout for just the second time in his career (also May 20, 2016, for Pittsburgh vs. Colorado). Cole is the first Yankee to allow four home runs, issue four walks and not record a strikeout in a game.

“He’s Gerrit Cole; he’s capable,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s been in a pretty good spot here for the last month or so as he’s built up. No, I don’t think this is inevitable, but he’s not all the way built up out of spring, and he is coming back from an injury and being down. The buildup matters.”

Of particular concern, Cole’s fastball velocity dipped after he touched 98 mph and averaged 96.9 mph in the first inning. From the second inning on, Cole averaged 94 mph with his heater, and Vientos’ first homer was his slowest four-seamer of the night, at 91.5 mph.

Cole’s nine four-seamers at 94 mph or lower were his most since joining the Yankees. He said he intentionally dialed back his fastball after throwing 28 pitches in the first inning, believing that sacrificing velocity for command would help his chances of completing more innings.

“My objective is to get deep into the ballgame, and I’m not quite sure I’m ready to just keep sitting 97 to 99,” Cole said. “We’re not in the strike zone enough with it. So not only is it an effort of trying to get to 75 pitches, but it’s also like, ‘It’s not really going where you want to, Gerrit, so is that the most efficient fastball you can be throwing?’”

Cole, who threw 62 pitches in his season debut on June 19 vs. Baltimore, tossed 72 pitches (44 strikes) in his follow-up outing. He spent three months on the injured list after experiencing nerve inflammation and edema in his pitching elbow during Spring Training, which Cole attributed to ramping up too quickly for the season.

These two big league starts, Cole said, have told him that he is physically “really good” compared to how he felt when his season was stalled in March.

“The progression has been nailed,” Cole said. “This is the first time we’ve had the challenge of 28 pitches [in an inning]. It’s the first time we’ve touched 99 mph. It’s the first time we’ve got past 70 pitches. So I feel pretty good in those regards, under the umbrella that this was a pretty tough night, and I didn’t really give us a chance to win.”

Judge said that he considers this to be the equivalent of Cole’s Spring Training, and thus he believes better days are to come.

“It just wasn’t as fine as what he normally does, but he’s still working back,” Judge said. “That’s our ace, that’s our guy, and I want him out there every five days.”

Juan Soto hit his 19th home run of the season in his Subway Series debut, accounting for the Bombers’ production against left-hander David Peterson, who worked 4 1/3 innings.

The Yankees had the bases loaded and none out in the first inning, but Peterson escaped, striking out Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo and J.D. Davis in succession.

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“It’s not easy,” Torres said. “I know I’m a guy that can do a better job right now.”