Fansided

3 Yankees who choked the most in AL Wild Card game

By Ethan Lee

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 05: Manager Aaron Boone #17 takes out Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning of the American League Wild Card game at Fenway Park on October 05, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 05: Manager Aaron Boone #17 takes out Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning of the American League Wild Card game at Fenway Park on October 05, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 05: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Boston Red Sox exits the game during the third inning of the 2021 American League Wild Card game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on October 5, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 05: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Boston Red Sox exits the game during the third inning of the 2021 American League Wild Card game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on October 5, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Did any New York Yankee have a more miserable evening than Gerrit Cole?

Gerrit Cole’s outing was abysmal. The New York Yankees needed a stellar performance from their ace and that’s the exact opposite of what they got. The Red Sox ended up forcing the Yankees to pull Cole in the third inning as he was clearly vulnerable to Boston’s batters.

Cole came into the game after a strong regular season. He looked sharp through the bulk of the year and had a 3.23 ERA in 181.1 innings pitched. Even though Cole recorded a 16-8 win-loss record this year, none of that regular season success was translated over to the AL Wild Card Game.

In 2.0 innings pitched, Cole struck out a trio of batters, but he gave up a couple of huge home runs (one to Xander Bogaerts and another to Kyle Schwarber) and allowed Boston to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Cole also issued two walks and gave up four hits during his 50-pitch outing.

He simply wasn’t sharp at all.

With how much the Yankees are paying Cole, a stronger start was reasonable for the Red Sox to expect. But Boston had his number. Bogaerts and Schwarber were both able to crush dominant home runs against him.

And it’s clear that Cole’s struggles and inability to get out of innings cleanly set the Red Sox up for success in this game.

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