MLB Network | Mark Derosa breakdown Gerrit Cole exits with cramp as Yankees beat Texas 8-4

Eric Cole was the most important player on the field for the Yankees tonight Bob we talked about that during the pregame and then he went out and made sure that that prediction or that expectation came true you mentioned those six solid Innings the ability to get some swing and Miss he had nine strikeouts against the Rangers eight of those came on his fast ball I think this was one of the best fast ball we've seen from garri Co all season long he sprinkled in the slider and the curve and the cutter but it was the fast ball that was his get me out of trouble pitch and he was going head-to-head with Jack lighter until the sixth inning when the Yankees erupted for five runs against the young lighter and the Rangers Bullpen gave themselves some breathing room as you noted Klay Holmes made it interesting in the end but gabur is with a really Nifty play to make sure a ball that could have been ticketed for a two-run single becomes a ground out off the bat of semian and the Yankees exhale after this win we'll recap the end of the game coming up in just a bit but let's talk about Cole take a look at his night our pitching decisions presented by Sage he was coming in off a lost Jack where the fast ball wasn't going where he wanted to put it tonight different story definitely a different story but how about this he shows Marcus semi and I got a slider too so he starts out the game getting him going down couple batters later with two Runners on he gets low just dotting that four seamer on the corner second inning young is at the plate again look at that location on the four seamer two batters later he gets him to strike out swinging on a 97 mph fast ball actually passed Cony for 19th play on the Yankees alltime strikeout list with that and he just kept going with the four seamer Bob and that's why I felt this was the best fast ball perhaps that we've seen from him this year look at the life on it in the zone we saw 97 we saw 98 actually it was the Rangers who were seeing 97 and 98 Seager strikes out again and then in the sixth inning low can't catch up with that fast ball 95 at that point this was concerning at the time he comes out to warm out warm up in the seventh he was at 82 pitches Yankees are ready to perhaps squeeze another inning out of him but you see a little bit of a Grimace on his face and eventually he is going to alert the Yankees that the athletic trainer needs to come out you see him stretching out that right leg the Yankees later said he left with a calf cramp so not terrible news Bob yep not terrible news at all we'll hear from Cole coming up in just a bit but here's his breakdown relied heavily on that for seamer they went just one one for 12 against it he got eight strikeouts and you know Jack I don't know that this is necessarily his complete Mo but it almost feels like with Garett Cole when something wasn't working for him in his last outing that next outing like tonight he was going to find a way to get that thing right and that's what he did with the fast ball if you remember in his last outing against the gats they had four hits against the fast ball including back-to-back homers that he gave up to young players and tonight Bob I thought the fast ball was crisper I thought it had more late life but more than anything I thought he located it exactly where he needed to he wasn't going to give the Rangers the opportunity to do damage against him and damage against that pitch that role of highlights that we just showed the execution was perfect he was putting his pitches either right on the corner and then at times he was going up in the zone to get batters to chase that's what helps make that coold fast ball so electrifying so dynamic so successful when he can keep going up the ladder and you mentioned that it was a good pitching match between Cole and Jack lighter lighter of course the former high school teammate of Anthony vulpi and getting just his fifth Major League start highlights of this game brought to you by your local Ford stores and let's start with that theme and you we thought how would this go vulpi against his former teammate what would be the first pitch thrown their old high school coach said he thought lighter would throw a breaking pitch because Anthony's so aggressive guess what first pitch fastball Bob he is aggressive the old high school coach was right I was Bruce chatel he goes the other way for the opposite field single all right so this is third inning nothing on the board yet for these teams and after vulpi comes up Alex ver Dugo chops one to the left side hustling out an infield single so now it's first and second nobody out and glaver Torres as the lineup flips back to the top goes gapping left Center that will score both vulpi and Verdugo with ease Torres we're going to hear from from him coming up he has been Rock Solid in that leadoff spot Yanks have an early two nothing lead but let's take it out to our turning point of the game brought to you by Mona or Einstein the official Hospital of the New York Yankees as the Yankees go back to work in the top of the six Gabor tour has been a catalist at the top of the order and he's been having long at bats he does that again here Bob another 3-2 count hits the ground or the third but it's the hustle from glabber Torres that helps turn that into an infield single and helps turn this inning in the Yankees favor as stto now shoots a single to Center lighter is going to remain in the game to face judge Bob and you and I both like this decision by Bruce bochi you got to figure out who this kid is going to be and he comes inside with a fast B and judge rips it down the left field line for a double that pushes the Yankee lead to three to one all right so not tashing in there against judge who he had pitched effectively away in his first two at bats but he tries to come inside next with Sanderson into pitch Austin Wells hit by a pitch on the hand they pause for a quick injury delay but Wells would later say I'm good send him to First and with the bases loaded a few batters later Jazz Chisum Jr comes up to the plate yeah Chism against Anderson the Yankees are trying to figure out a way to break this game open and that's how you do it four seam fast ball is line to right field you're going to see stto come in to score Yankees Le lead four to one but you got to keep stringing the hits together next patter base is loaded Rizzo down the line and just that great spin of a bounce into the stands for a double crown Ru double if you're Anthony Rizzo you are absolutely smiling as the Yankee lead is extended to six to one right there of course he's going to take credit for that chase Anderson's change up right here getting by Jaheim that allows chisel Jr to score easily it's a wild pitch things getting away now from Texas it's a 7-1 game and then finally as we take it to the eighth inning in terms of scoring that's Stanton all the way about 10 days ago Bob I said I'm already giving you my postseason X Factor it was John Carlos Stanton right here we see Stanton go deep another no doubter his 25th of the Season he's the only active player with 10 25 plus home run Seasons now we met should have got a little interesting got to within 842 outs Marcus semian smokes a ball up the middle off clayhole m in the ninth but glaver able to get the throw to first and Rizzo a nice scoop to get Marcus semian so the Yankees hang on to win the opener 8 to four you take a look at everybody but Austin Wells coming up with at least one hit and for glaver Torres three more hits in this game two runs scored as well he has a 394 average with runners in scoring possession over the last three games right after the game Meredith morovic caught up with Gaber on the field labor we'll start with the final play of that game that ball was hit incredibly hard any doubt in your mind you were gon to be able to make that play to close this one out uh yeah I was in the right position uh just prepar for everything I mean uh than got you made that play and just finish the game good allaround win solid pitching offensive contributions up and down the order what do you think allowed the offense to click tonight uh I mean like you say uh from the top on the bottom we we got a really good from the from the first uh pitch uh we attack the sun I mean uh try to to do damage early or if we don't get anything we pass the Baton for the other guy I mean overall we we get a lot of pitches um and we we do the little things I mean walk single double I mean overall we play really good tonight three hits for you you drove in two runs overall since moving to that leadoff spot how much more comfortable have you been feeling in the batter box uh feels good right now I mean uh I got really good playing every time when I go to the home play uh I mean it's it's long season and uh I'm just try to do the little things I mean little off I know my guys behind me can do the J too so I don't do too much right now and just just try to get really good at bar if I don't have anything just pass the Baton and and just put myself in base so just just get simple and and do the job very night knowing that those guys are behind you does that allow you to be a little bit more patient see more pitches yeah for sure I mean we know what what type of guys we have in the lineup and you know and just and just be the small part of the lineup right now I'm just try to do the little thing try to try to do the right thing and just pass the like I said what did you think of Cole tonight amazing amazing the outing was was really good uh the fastb the command everything was was amazing uh I mean it's our a so we we never surprise what he do every every time when he on the mount lab congratulations on the win thank you send it back to you mer thank you as the Yankees look to play with a sense of urgency here Jack down the stretch glaber tour is certainly playing that way not only the way he smothered that ball at the end of the game was on point defensively but the way he's been hitting we saw the numbers over his last 16 a near 300 hitter in that leadoff spot yeah he has energized the Yankees at the top of that lineup and all season long bob he's been seeing a lot of pitches so even while he was struggling he was still having deep at bats he just wasn't get the results that he was looking for I I think recently we've seen an energized glaber Torres Joe Tor used to always say this to some of his players who had struggled to a certain point in the season that was beyond the point of coming back to maybe get the numbers you expected to get you're not going to be the 280 290 or 300 hitter that you thought you were going to be but for the rest of the way maybe you can be that player that's what we're seeing with gabber Torres I think the Yankees should be very encouraged by what they're seeing from him and then up and down the lineup Bob how many times have we sat here this season and talked about how the Yankees left guys on base they didn't cash in they had 14 base runners tonight eight of them scored and by the way eight different Runners scored eight of the nine guys in the lineup had one run scored because I I was down kind of in The Dugout and that hey here and seeing them needed to come out so yeah obviously immediate concern um but looks like it was hopefully just that some cramping and I know he seemed pretty good right right now when we came in so hopefully that's the case while he was in there what made him so good thought his fast ball was really good cutter was good tonight um spun the ball well um but I thought I thought his stuff was really good starting with the heater I have a weird night all the way around you have Jazz running in to the wall down the left field line Verdugo looked like he was grabbing his side at one point Wells gets hit are all of those guys coming through it okay I know they stayed in yeah I hope so um you know was a little concerned about Austin there um but he felt like you know I thought he got some good swings off after that so pay attention to that but hopefully and then uh chz was chz was okay um and we we'll see on Doogie so kind of see what we got overnight and hopefully uh all of it's just minor things 10th season for John Carlos Stanton to hit 25 or more home runs just how impressive is that yeah it is you know I I I think sometimes people don't take notice of just you know just what a what an outstanding career he's had to this point and and I feel like right now he's swinging the bat really really well feel like his swing is where it needs to be and uh he's got a really good look in his eye right now and um excited about the presence he's he he is in our lineup right now Garrett tell you when you went out the mound initially what he was feeling uh just lower half CR uh yeah lower body uh because I kind of got out there secondary and uh so because my first concern was obviously the arm and stuff and he said no my lower body and then I came in was cramping so top of the six but look pretty sharp the bottom that that played a ro at all or I don't know um uh tough to say how much difference has it made with blade at the top of the order yeah he's been great I mean you know another outstanding night for him at the top T today gets us started there you know I thought we had really good bats right out of the gate in the first inning and with nothing to show for where he gets the base hit WS smokes the double play ball and then uh Aaron hits one hard to left so I thought we had three really good at bats there but then obviously the big two-run double to get us started um you know it's just kind of more in line with what he's been he's just been having really quality at bats day in and day out up there and he's playing really well it's exciting staying on what you think of that play at the end say it again staying on glaber really good I mean that was not an easy play in between hop like that to the backand um you know last thing we want to see is Seager come up there as a Time run and that was a big time play it looked to you like uh vuli was a little uh fired up to face his former high school teammate there two really good at bats yeah he he he did I I thought I was hoping he got that one um but yeah I'm sure that was pretty uh pretty cool for the both of them to to square off like that I actually saw when vulpi flew out to the fence on him when he was running by the mound I saw him kind of catch eyes and and have a laugh about it so pretty cool when you uh you know I've I've had that fortune of playing you know against people you're close to whether it's growing up or in college and um to get to do it is is pretty neat e e e e e e e e e