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NEW YORK — Hand on his heart, Gerrit Cole promises there’s nothing magical about the way he’s pitched since coming back from Tommy John surgery. We can excuse his modesty and cut straight to the truth: there’s something surreal going on with the Yankees’ ace.
No one is supposed to heal this fast from reconstructive elbow surgery. Cole is supposed to wobble on the road to recovery. His velocity should be off. His command of the strike zone shouldn’t be this sharp. We shouldn’t see the old Cole until 2027.
Yet here he is, flattening one opponent after another, including the White Sox in Tuesday night’s 12-2 wipeout at the Stadium. Cole has been virtually untouchable in five starts since coming off the injured list, with a solid 2.57 ERA. He’s so far along in his recovery we shouldn’t bother calling it that.
Cole is recovered – fully. He’s practically in October-mode, which has the Yankees buzzing in anticipation of what lies ahead this summer.
“Gerrit is just so good, it’s been amazing to watch,” said Cody Bellinger. “He’s been ace for so long and knows his body so well. I can’t even say it surprises me.”
In a series of tests since rejoining the rotation on May 22, Cole’s match-up against Chicago was the most telling. The White Sox are in first place in the American League Central Division. And they brought out their heavy artillery to neutralize Cole’s growing momentum.
Yankees -1.5 run line is listed at +116 on FanDuel for Wednesday’s game versus the White Sox. Our comprehensive FanDuel Sportsbook review makes it easy to figure out how to navigate through their app.
Starter Davis Martin’s 2.41 ERA was second in the AL only to the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler (1.82). Even more impressive: Martin allowed one run or fewer in nine starts. Yankees manager Aaron Boone wasn’t over-stating his praise when he said, “(Martin) is probably going to the All-Star Game.”
But Martin was no match for Cole. The White Sox’s own ace never made it out of the fourth inning, charged with nine earned runs, including home runs by Spencer Jones, Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt. The Yankees had scored 11 of their 12 runs by the fourth inning, which stripped away the drama between two teams who might face each other in the playoffs.
The focus instead turned to Cole. After surrendering a first-inning home run to Andrew Benintendi, Cole and his new elbow retired 13 in a row. He didn’t pitch from the stretch until the sixth inning, when fatigue finally set in. By then Cole had delivered a powerful message about the recovery that’s defying conventional wisdom:
This is no fluke.
The proof is right there in the numbers. Averaging 96.8 mph so far this season, Cole is throwing harder now than at any time since 2022. So if he doesn’t want to be called a magician, at the very least Cole qualifies as the Bionic Man.
“I’ve kept us in every game so far, so it feels pretty good,” he said. “I’ve gotten some good length (in innings pitched), and been able to continue to build pitch counts and sharpen some stuff while competing.”
That’s as close as Cole comes to self-promotion. As fierce as he is on the mound, Cole is surprisingly shy admitting to what degree the Yankees look up to him. But make no mistake: the Bombers aren’t going anywhere in October without him.
“The stuff looks really good,” Bellinger said. “What makes it fun to play behind him is how smart he is. He’s such an intelligent pitcher, it’s what he’s always been.”
That’s why the conquest of the White Sox was significant. Not only are the Yankees witnessing the resurgence of their ace, the offense is getting breathing room while their two beasts – Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton – are both injured. These won’t be short-term absences, either.
Judge (fractured rib) and Stanton (re-aggravated calf strain) could both be out for another 4-6 weeks. Yet the Yankees have won 7-of-8 and have pulled 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Rays. For that the Bombers can thank the lineup’s three emerging leaders: Bellinger, Rice and Goldschmidt. They’ve made it possible for the Yankees to continue to intimidate opposing pitchers.
Consider that collision of matter versus anti-matter on Tuesday: Chicago’s Martin, who allowed only three HRs all season, taking on a Yankees’ crew that’s leading the AL in the long ball (105).
Each home run told a unique story.
For Rice, it was No. 20 on the season. There’s growing daylight between him and Judge (17).
For Goldschmidt, it was his 10th HR, matching his 2025 total which took him 146 games to reach. He’s done the same in 46 games in 2026.
For Jones, it was career HR No. 1 in Yankee Stadium. It doesn’t take a genius to understand why the rookie was beaming in front of the YES cameras after the game.
“It was pretty special,” Jones said before adding, “the first time (around the league) is so much new experience, you can visualize what the major league experience is going to be like, but the reality doesn’t always match up.
“There’s a lot of new information, a lot of new things, different routines … I was able to focus on and know that next time I get an opportunity I’ll make the most of it.”
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Jones concluded the thought by saying, “I belong…I’m a major league player.”
No one ever doubted that, but Jones helping Cole with that first Bronx home run was its own milestone.
Perfect swing. Perfect timing. What a night.
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