"This is this guy's spring training, he's still working back" - Yankees captain Aaron Judge backs Gerrit Cole following ace's dreadful outing vs. Mets

NY Yankees captain Aaron Judge backed 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole to bounce back and get back to his vintage self soon in 2024. Cole made only his second start of the season since recovering from nerve irritation and edema that he sustained on his pitching elbow at the start of spring training.

Gerrit Cole took to the mound for game 1 of the Subway Series against the NY Mets at Citi Field on Tuesday night. Cole was looking to register his first win of the season against the NYM, but instead, he ended up surrendering four home runs to a highly aggressive Mets batting lineup.

Reflecting on Cole's difficult outing at Citi Field, captain Aaron Judge backed their star pitcher to bounce back from the early struggles on the mound after two disastrous starts against the Baltimore Orioles and the NY Mets in 2024. In the post-game interview, Aaron Judge said:

"You know looking at all the numbers, the velo and everything after coming back. This is this guy's [Gerrit Cole] spring training you know so you come back from an injury like that, everything with the arm is always, you gotta be careful with that kind of stuff."

"So, seeing him comeback and have the velo, he has, and you know I think he was executing the location where he wanted just wasn't as fine as you know what he normally does, but you know he is still working back."

Finally, Aaron Judge voiced praise on Gerrit Cole's skills and talents while couching for him to bounce back strong from the frail start to his 2024 campaign with the NY Yankees. Judge said

"That's our ace, that's our guy and you know you want him out there every single five days so games like this happen, you just got to move on and keep learning from it, you know he [Cole] will be fine."

Aaron Judge impressed with the bat while Gerrit Cole struggled in Game 1 of the Subway Series

The Yankees lost game 1 of the Subway Series 9-7 against the NY Mets. Aaron Judge led the charge with the bat as he smashed a home run and drove in five runs, while Juan Soto crushed a solo home run as well.

Gerrit Cole gave up six runs on seven hits and struck out zero batters in four innings pitched to register his first loss of the campaign. He will be hopeful of bouncing back in his start for the Bronx Bombers. Cole will make his next start against the Blue Jays on Sunday.