Gerrit Cole’s velocity is down bad and Yankees fans are panicking

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole made his season debut on June 19 with a promising four-inning stint. A week later, he got blown up by the New York Mets while showing highly worrying signs of declining velocity.

Cole gave up six earned runs on seven hits, including four home runs in just four innings. He failed to strike out a single batter for only the second time in his 302 career starts. The Yankees replaced him with Phil Bickford to start the fifth inning.

Sometimes pitchers just have a bad game but this pitcher is making only his second appearances in the majors in more than 260 days because of injury. The concern stems from a clear change in velocity from the first inning to the second. He regularly hit 97 mph on his fastball in the opening frame. He didn't go over 95 in the next.

The Mets made him pay for that. Mark Vientos and Harrison Bader both blasted low velocity fastballs into the stands.

Gerrit Cole's velocity has Yankees fans worried

Cole's velocity in his first game back wasn't at his normal level, but that didn't ring any alarm bells because he had spent so long out. A second more disastrous performance has

It wasn't just the fastball either. His numbers were jarringly below expectations across the board.

This could be some rust. Cole may just need some time to truly build back up to his former self. Or the elbow issue that kept him out for nearly three months remains an issue. That's the worst-case scenario that everyone in pinstripes hopes isn't the case.

For what it's worth, there was no indication that Cole's exit was tied to injury.

The Yankees trailed 6-1 at the time of Cole's exit. The Bronx Bombers will have to hit some bombs to avoid dropping the first game of the Subway Series.