Yankees ace Gerrit Cole looked solid in his third rehab start on Wednesday as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery.
Pitching for Double-A Somerset, Cole retired the first 11 Portland Sea Dogs he faced, but ran into some trouble in the fourth inning.
Cole lost the perfect game on a two-out single and then gave up a two-run home run to Johanfran Garcia. The right-hander got out of the frame on a fly out.
He bounced back with a strikeout to open the fifth inning, but then allowed another home run to Max Ferguson as the Patriots went down, 3-1.
Cole was able to regain his control and record the next four outs into the sixth inning, exiting after exactly 60 pitches — the most he’s thrown over three rehab starts. Over his three games in the minors, Cole has allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk over 14.1 innings.
It’s expected that the 35-year-old will still need a few more rehab games before he returns to the Bronx.
Additionally, shortstop Anthony Volpe went 2-for-4 for the Patriots as his rehab from shoulder surgery continues. However, he was picked off first base in the bottom of the third inning and was thrown out at second base in the fifth inning trying to stretch a single into a double.
On Monday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he was unsure if Volpe would be able to rejoin the team in time for their weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles. Over 10 minor league games across Double-A and Triple-A, Volpe is hitting .303 with a home run and three RBI.
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