Positive Gerrit Cole update emerges after getting scratched for body fatigue

All New York Yankees fans could do when it was announced that Gerrit Cole was going to miss his start on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies with what the club described as "general body fatigue" was cross their fingers.

The Yankees had been without Cole, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, for all but seven starts this season. He returned from the IL following his bout with right elbow inflammation in mid-June and then had already suffered another injury.

Fortunately, the injury appeared minor at the time, and the Yankees expected Cole to take the ball sometime this weekend. Sure enough, after successfully throwing a bullpen session on Friday, Cole said he's expecting to start Sunday's series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.

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Yankees get best possible Gerrit Cole update

This Yankees team is expecting to compete for and win the World Series. Chances are, if Gerrit Cole isn't healthy and pitching like his Cy Young self in October, the Yankees aren't going anywhere.

So far this season in his limited action we've seen glimpses of brilliance from the 33-year-old. His 5.40 ERA is far from stellar, but he's allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his seven outings. Clearly he's working through things, but now that he's healthy and expecting to start on Sunday, hopefully, he can put together a good showing against a weaker Blue Jays lineup.

The Yankees looked brutal for most of July, but ended the month with a five-game winning streak even with Cole missing his start. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has given them the jolt that they desperately needed, and finding out that Cole is expected to return for Sunday's game should get the Yankees even more fired up.

Thanks to their five-game winning streak New York is now tied with the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East, and is tied with Baltimore and the Phillies for the second-most wins (65) in the majors. Getting Cole back on Sunday should only help them gun for a division title and eventually more.