Gerrit Cole reminded the baseball world why the New York Yankees paid him like an ace.
Entering Game 4 of the American League Division Series with a 2-1 lead over the Kansas City Royals, the Yankees needed their $324 million ace to deliver.
Cole did just that, giving the Yankees a chance to win the series with a fantastic outing at Kauffman Stadium.
His final line included 7.0 innings, six hits, one run, four strikeouts and no walks on 87 pitches.
The 34-year-old leaned heavily on his fastball this time around against a pesky Royals lineup. It was mostly Cole working off his fastball, which had a lot more conviction and life than it did in Game 1.
Cole mixed in his cutter (17 pitches) and knuckle curve (15 pitches), mostly throwing the latter to left-handed batters.
The Yankees pulled Cole going into the eighth inning, giving way to right-hander Clay Holmes.
Regardless of the outcome, this was an extremely encouraging outing for the Yankees ace after his shaky start in Game 1.
