With a slew of New York Yankees legends and fan favorites in attendance for Old-Timers' Day, Gerrit Cole further cemented his status as one of the Bronx Bombers' greatest pitchers.
Cole, 35, shined against the Atlanta Braves by tossing seven innings of two-run ball on just 82 pitches, allowing six hits and no walks while striking out nine in the Yankees' 5-4 victory. In the process, Cole put his name into the Yankees' fabled record books.
By striking out Matt Olson in the top of the fifth inning, Cole recorded his 1,000th strikeout in a Yankee uniform. He is just the 13th pitcher in franchise history to accrue 1,000 punchouts, joining an exclusive list that includes Andy Pettitte, Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry, CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera and Roger Clemens, among others.
However, Cole became the fastest Yankees pitcher to reach the mark, as it took him just 139 games.
The right-hander concluded his outing with two more strikeouts to push his Yankee total to 1,002. Cole now has 2,338 strikeouts in his career, which is the fourth-most among active MLB pitchers (behind only Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Chris Sale).
Ironically, Cole's record-setting strikeout would come in his most difficult inning. To begin the fifth inning, he allowed four consecutive hits to the Braves' potent lineup that plated two runs. This included an RBI double by Mike Yastrzemski over the head of left fielder Heliot Ramos that appeared to be catchable.
But Cole wouldn't allow another baserunner from there. He escaped the jam by retiring Drake Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Olson in succession, with Olson being the 1,000th strikeout victim. Cole was assisted by great defensive plays by Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario in a one-two-three sixth inning, and ended the day on a high note with back-to-back strikeouts of Austin Riley and Jim Jarvis.
Cole departed with a 3-2 lead and picked up his sixth win of the season, outdueling the aforementioned Sale in the process. Sale, who entered the day with a 2.08 ERA, also recorded a quality start by going six innings and allowing three runs on five hits while striking out eight and walking two.
The 37-year-old lefty took the loss after giving up two runs in the bottom of the fifth, which came via an RBI triple by Spencer Jones and a balk that forced in the go-ahead run.
