Gerrit Cole faces mounting pressure ahead of the playoffs after allowing seven home runs over his last two starts, marking a significant decline from his earlier performance this season. Manager Aaron Boone remains optimistic about Cole’s upcoming start against the Diamondbacks, despite concerns raised by former Cy Young winner David Cone that hitters are not respecting Cole's secondary pitches and are focusing on hitting his fastball. Cole’s four-seam fastball has become increasingly hittable over his last few starts, leading to speculation that he needs to improve pitch selection and regain effectiveness with his slider to protect his fastball.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In September 2024, Gerrit Cole, pitcher for the New York Yankees, faces significant challenges as he prepares for the playoffs. Over his last two starts against the Mets and Padres, Cole allowed seven home runs, the highest number in any two-start span of his career. Despite these setbacks, key metrics on his pitches have remained consistent with his season averages: his fastball velocity averaged 97.1 mph and 96.9 mph, both faster than his 2024 seasonal average. Manager Aaron Boone remains optimistic, stating that Cole will perform better in his next start against the Diamondbacks. Cole attributes these recent issues to normal adjustments after returning from Tommy John surgery but emphasizes he feels physically strong, having pitched 115 innings this season without any significant injuries.
Written for “Gerrit Cole Playoff Preparations” on 2026-09-18,
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Yet, for most of his first 20 starts back, he looked like the Cole of old.
asserted
he → look → old
The last two, however, have started to ring some moderate alarm bells at an inopportune time — or, if viewed through the Yankees’ pinstriped glasses, a decent time so that he can get himself straightened out over his final two starts before the playoffs.
asserted
himself → start → playoffs
Try it freeThat quest begins Friday, when Cole will take the mound against the Diamondbacks having allowed seven home runs over his last two starts, the most in any two-start span of his career.
asserted
Cole → try → career
“I expect him to be right next time,” manager Aaron Boone said after Cole’s last start against the Mets.
asserted
Boone → expect → Mets
Cole has insisted throughout that he is feeling good physically, 115 ¹/₃ innings into the season after missing all of last year.
asserted
he → insist → year
The metrics on his pitches over the last two starts against the Mets and Padres have mostly stayed in line with where they have been over the course of the full season, including his fastball velocity, which averaged 97.1 mph and 96.9 mph in those two starts (both faster than his season average in 2024).
asserted
both → stay → 2024
Except all of a sudden, that four-seam fastball has become a lot more hittable.
asserted
fastball → become → ?
Dating back to Cole’s last four starts, hitters are batting 16-for-48 (.333) against the pitch, compared to 32-for-173 (.185) across his first 16 starts.
asserted
hitters → date → starts
Perhaps even more concerning is that hitters are not just hitting the fastball — they are hardly even missing it.
asserted
missing → hit → it
Over his last three starts, Cole has generated just eight whiffs on 69 swings against his fastball (11.6 percent), including zero on 16 swings last time out against the Mets, compared to a 22.8 percent whiff rate on the pitch in his first 17 starts (which is still down from the rest of his career).
asserted
which → generate → career
Former American League Cy Young Award winner and current YES Network analyst David Cone, speaking this week on “The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman,” theorized that Cole often has been in between on which secondary pitch to use, which has allowed hitters to wait and attack his fastball.
asserted
hitters → speak → fastball
“To me, that just leans back to they’re not respecting your secondary stuff, they’re sitting on your fastball,” Cone said.
asserted
Cone → lean → fastball
“You got to get some protection for your fastball, and you got to do something about your secondary pitches and get your slider tunneling again on that same plane off of that fastball.
asserted
slider → got → fastball
That will give you what you’re looking for.”
asserted
you → give → what
Of the seven home runs Cole has given up in his last two starts, four have come on his fastball.
asserted
four → give → fastball
During those two starts, hitters have put 22 fastballs in play, with 15 of them registering as hard-hit balls, meaning they have come off the bat at exit velocities north of 95 mph.
asserted
they → put → mph
The average exit velocity on Cole’s fastballs during those two starts has been 98.3, compared to 92.7 in his first 18 starts.
asserted
velocity → compare → starts
All of that suggests that hitters are seeing Cole’s fastball well.
uncertain
hitters → suggest → fastball
Whether that is because of a lack of deception, he is not getting it to the spots he wants, or they simply are sitting fastball and unleashing their best swings when they get it is a matter of opinion.
Shop
asserted
they → get → opinion
Now, it is on Cole to adjust back in his final two starts of the regular season (lined up to come against the Diamondbacks and Rays).
asserted
it → adjust → Diamondbacks
Prior to the clunkers against the Padres and Mets, he had pitched to 3.29 ERA across 18 starts, looking very much like the kind of pitcher the Yankees would want to start in a potential AL wild-card series along with Cam Schlittler and Max Fried.
asserted
Yankees → pitch → Schlittler
While the concerning last two starts probably still are not enough to make the Yankees change course and start Carlos Rodón over him, Cole could go a long way in offering some reassurance by solving his home run and fastball problem before the postseason arrives.
uncertain
postseason → make → problem
The Aporia
