Yankees: Gerrit Cole was so bad he made Aaron Boone look good

Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole was so bad that Aaron Boone pulling him in the third inning was the best decision that could’ve happened Tuesday.

The New York Yankees kicked off the postseason with an abysmal performance from starting pitcher Gerrit Cole against the Boston Red Sox. The ace walked two, allowed four hits and gave up two massive homers on his way to being pulled in the third inning.

When Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled Cole, the Yankees were down 3-0 and bleeding badly from the plate. While this pitching change is probably the right one, it comes with a painful caveat for Yankees fans: the 30-year-old Cole is in the second year of his nine-year $324 million contract.

MLB Twitter reacts to Gerrit Cole’s outing

https://twitter.com/CoachTravisJr/status/1445560004484816905?s=20

Pulling Cole when he did could have saved Boone’s job as it put a much-needed hold on the bleeding. The fourth-year manager had caught flack all season for the Yankees struggles prior to their late push to get into the playoffs.

The two homers came at the swings of Xander Boagerts in the first — Rafael Devers ran in as well — and Kyle Schwarber, who at this point might just be Cole’s kryptonite, hit one in the third. Boagerts’ smash went 427 feet, while Schwarber’s sent his 437 feet.

https://twitter.com/FanSided/status/1445561249119440897?s=20

With Cole making $36 million this season, it’s much less than ideal to have such a sorry outing on the diamond, especially in a game as pivotal as a Wild Card game. He left the game with 50 pitches, 30 strikes and gave up three runs and was replaced by Clay Holmes.