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NEW YORK – About ten days ago, Gerrit Cole was playing wrestling with his wife, Amy, hoping his body would rebound quickly enough from COVID-19 that he could help the Yankees soon.
Not knowing how much he had in the tank, Cole’s first pitch Monday night at Shohei Ohtani was 99 mph. The rest was also very good.
Cole threw two hits in the sixth inning and struck out nine on his return from the COVID-19 injured list, and Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer as New York beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1.
New York won 10 of 13 games and moved closer to Boston within two games for an AL wildcard spot. The Yankees open a three-game series against rival Red Sox with a double day-night schedule Tuesday.
Cole (11-6) completed 5⅔ inning, the only damage to him occurring on Justin Upton’s home run in the first. The Yankees ace walked just one batter and threw 90 pitches, hitting 100 mph in his first appearance since allowing Tampa Bay eight runs on July 29.
“I was a little prepared if I didn’t know where the balls were going to go,” Cole said. “The plan was just to attack the strike zone in the first one and go from there.”
The right-hander tested positive for COVID-19 on August 3 and was showing mild symptoms, but showed no ill effects on Monday. He said he felt great on the mound, although fatigue caught up with him after the game.
“He’s an ace and he’s great at what he does,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He did a great job of managing himself.
Zack Britton, Albert Abreu and Joely Rodriguez handed the ball to Chad Green, who closed the ninth for his fourth save. The bullpen had lost at least one lead in three of New York’s last six games.
Ohtani was 0 for 4 after hitting three home runs in three games at Yankee Stadium during the Angels’ previous visit. His strikeouts included a towering flying ball against Cole who left the stick at 109mph and was caught on the warning track in the sixth.
“He makes you nervous every time he’s in the box,” Cole said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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