Cole Pitches a Shutout, Jays Lose 6-0

The Yankees had 10 guys appear in this game, but they really only needed two. Gerrit Cole dominated, and Aaron Judge launched to bombs that accounted for four runs. Meanwhile, really nobody on the Jays side except Brandon Belt should feel good about what they did tonight. The pitching wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t good, and the lineup looked feeble.

Jose Berrios got off to a great start, retiring the whole Yankees lineup in order the first time through. He had no margin for error with the offence failing to score for him, though, and in tue fourth he made a couple of mistakes. He walked leadoff man DJ LeMahieu and then caught too much of the plate with a sinker to Aaron Judge, who hammered a line drive into the right field stands to put New York up 2-0. It was the kind of home run that only Judge is physically capable of hitting, a bullet to the opposite field at 112mph. Berrios had more trouble in the fifth. John Schneider made the decision to intentionally walk Judge with two out and a man on first, but Berrios walked Gleyber Torres to load the bases and then hung a slider to Giancaro Stanton, who lined a single to left. Two runs scored, but the Jays at least escaped tue inning when Torres went halfway home on a bad throw to the plate and was thrown out retreating to third.

Berrios would go one more scoreless inning, totalling six while allowing four runs on five hits and three walks, and also setting a season high with 10 strikeouts. He wasn’t bad, exactly, but his mistakes came in bunches and so his final line is kind of ugly.

Trevor Richards got the seventh. He walked leadoff man Oswald Peraza and then, two outs later, gave up an even more impressive home run to Judge. This one was a moonshot 424 feet into the second deck. That put the Yankees up 6-0.

Genesis Cabrera worked around a single to record a scoreless eighth. Jay Jackson gave up a single and a walk in the ninth but avoided runs.

Meanwhile! The offence had little hope against Gerrit Cole. Brandon Belt managed a double to lead off the second and a single with two out in the seventh. Cole struck out only five, so it wasn’t that he simply overpowered them. The Jays also hit several balls to the track. It was just that they didn’t make enough good contact, and what little then managed found gloves. He went the distance on just 105 pitches, and really never looked like he had to break a sweat.

Jays of the Day: nobody

Suckage: Berrios (-0.136), and a joint award to all the hitters except Belt, who were all in negative territory.

We have to go through one more of these. On the plus side, Luke Weaver (3-5, 6.47) is no Cole (or King for that matter). Maybe they can score a run! Maybe. Chirs Bassitt (15-8, 3.74) will try to avert the sweep, and if he gets any support he might pull it off. First pitch is tomorrow night at 7:07pm ET.