INJURY: Another Injury Scare As Yankees Ace Will Be Out For Several Weeks
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — New York Yankees ace expressed little concern after exiting his start against the Texas Rangers due to a right calf cramp.
Cole departed the game after his warmup pitches in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 8-4 victory on Monday night.
“I tried a few things to get it to stop, but it just wouldn’t. It didn’t seem like it was going to go away,” Cole explained. “I wasn’t overly worried, but I didn’t think it was the right time to keep pushing through it.”
Before his final warmup pitch, Cole lifted his right leg and attempted to stretch. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner bent over twice, threw the warmup pitch, then hopped and signaled to the bench. Manager Aaron Boone and director of sports medicine Michael Shuck came out to the mound to check on him.
“There was immediate concern, obviously, but it appears to be just a cramp,” Boone said. “He seemed fine when we came in, so hopefully that’s all it was.”
Cole, who turns 34 on Sunday, believes it was just a cramp, something he only noticed when following through on his warmup pitches. He didn’t feel anything while jogging to the mound before the inning or while walking and moving around afterward.
The Yankees announced during the game that they would monitor Cole and reassess his condition on Tuesday.
Cole began the season on the 60-day injured list due to nerve irritation and edema in his throwing elbow, making his season debut on June 19.
Cole exited with the Yankees leading 7-1, having struck out nine batters and allowed one run over six innings, with 56 of his 82 pitches being strikes. This was his first start in September after posting a 2-1 record with a 1.93 ERA and 31 strikeouts over 28 innings in five August starts. He retired the last nine Texas batters he faced.
“It’s a good sign when you’re unpredictable and locating the ball in the right spots,” Cole said.
Luke Weaver took over, giving up a single to Josh Jung and a home run to Wyatt Langford.