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New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has confirmed that Gerrit Cole will start in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians.
After much speculation and talk on who will open the series for the New York Yankees, it has been decided that the team's de facto ace will take the bump on Tuesday night.
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"Gerrit Cole will pitch Game 1 of the ALDS, per Aaron Boone. Nestor Cortes gets Game 2, Luis Severino Game 3."
Until a few days ago, Boone remained tight-lipped about this information. On Sunday, he finally confirmed that his ace will get the start for Game 1, while Nestor Cortes will get Game 2, and Luis Severino will start Game 3.
It is understandable that the team's skipper needed time to decide who the starter would be as Cole has had an underwhelming end to the season. The 32-year-old had given up at least three runs in his last five starts and ended the month of September with a 4.80 ERA.
The player's saving grace was him eclipsing Ron Guidry's Yankees single-season record for strikeouts, ending the season with 257 in total.
Nestor Cortes was selected to his first-ever MLB All-Star squad this year after posting a sensational 12-4 record with a 2.44 ERA for the year. Luis Severino, meanwhile, posted a respectable 7-3 record with a 3.18 ERA after spending a considerable time in the IL this year.
Gerrit Cole's postseason stats
Gerrit Cole will be making the seventh postseason appearance of his decorated career this year. He has an all-time record of 8-5 with a 2.93 ERA across 14 starts. In seven Division Series starts, including his time in the National League with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cole boasts a 5-1 record with a spectacular 1.87 ERA.
He will hope to put his 2021 postseason nightmares behind him as the last time he started a postseason game, the Boston Red Sox lit him up with three home runs in just two innings of work at Fenway Park in the ALWCS.
