WS Gm5 Player of the Game: Gerrit Cole

10/31/2024 10:00 AM

The Yankees ace did what he could—at least on the mound—in their final game of the season.

Finding a bright spot from Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, at least knowing what the final outcome would be, is not a particularly easy task. Aaron Judge seemed to find his swing with a much-needed homer in the first inning, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. immediately followed with a blast of his own to send a sudden jolt into this series. A few innings later, Giancarlo Stanton built on his folk hero status with yet another homer, putting the Yankees up 5-0 in Game 5. You will read all about what followed, but this was all for naught, with many of the game's heroes even coming back to bite them later on.

This was the game for Gerrit Cole to help cement his legacy. With their backs against the wall, he and the Yankees had a chance to bring this series to 3-2 headed back to LA. While not ideal, there are worse situations to be in, and it doesn't matter what the series was. But, of course, none of this matters now. Gerrit Cole was far from perfect, but he battled in Game 5, his teammates (and even himself at one point) just couldn't take advantage of their opportunity.

Cole began his outing at the top of his game, with a 1-2-3 frame in the top of the first, and followed it with another in the second, while tallying his first two strikeouts of the night to Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy. At that point, the Yanks had already gained some serious momentum with the two homers in the first inning, and added a run in each of the next two innings as well. Cole was on point again in the third, only needing to easily work around a two-out walk and registering another K. A five-run lead and a seemingly dialed in Gerrit Cole is a good recipe for success, but clearly one that can spoil quickly.

In the fourth, with Mookie Betts on base, Aaron Judge continued to rapidly regain favor when he made a leaping catch against the wall, robbing Freddie Freeman of extra bases, and helping to keep Cole's shutout intact through four frames.

The fifth inning, however, is where the story for Cole's outing, and likely this Yankees season as a whole, was written. After a single started the inning for LA, inexplicable errors from Judge in center and Anthony Volpe at shortstop loaded the bases with no outs. Cole, not at fault for the precarious situation, still seemed to have the good stuff working, when he blew a fastball by Gavin Lux to strike him out, and got Shohei Ohtani swinging for much the same. Then, the Dodgers hit the ground running on what should have been yet another easy out.

The bottom line is yes, Gerrit Cole should have been there to cover the bag. It is a play every pitcher has run through a mind-numbing amount of times, but he didn't run it here. There are two valid points in his defense in this case, the first being the gnarly spin off of Betts' bat, with the ball initially appearing to take Anthony Rizzo right to the bag, before swerving further from the foul line. And although this may not be entirely fair (he should have just been covering anyway), he also simply should not have been in that situation in the first place; with apt defense, he and the Yankees are back in the dugout, but alas, the bases were still loaded with Dodgers.

We all know that Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández did not miss their chances.

Somewhat surprisingly, Aaron Boone continued to ride with his ace for the sixth inning, where Cole returned to form with a spotless 1-2-3 frame. He returned once again for the seventh, inducing a pair of groundouts from Ohtani and Betts, before walking Freeman. It was there that Boone finally pulled the plug on a very reluctant Cole, and his rollercoaster, and ultimately unfavorable outing was done.

He finished going 6.2 innings, giving up four hits and striking out six. He did not have an earned run on the ledger, but the five disastrous unearned ones will be what sticks in the Yankees' heads for some time.

Often, the best a pitcher can do for his team is put everyone else in the best position possible to succeed. And for the most part, Gerrit Cole did just that in Game 5. He was not even without blame when the wheels fell off, but he took the hill and kept the potent Dodgers at bay for much of Game 5, or at least pitched in a way that should have. His outing will not be remembered in any positive manner, but this was a team loss in the truest sense. The 2024 Yankees had a shot, and they couldn't answer the bell.