Phillies return from layoff, lose to Cole and Yankees 6-3

NEW YORK (AP) — Philadelphia returned from a weeklong layoff caused by additional coronavirus testing with a matchup against baseball’s hottest pitcher, and Gerrit Cole won his debut in pinstripes for his 19th consecutive regular season victory to lead the New York Yankees over the Phillies 6-3 Monday night.

DJ LeMahieu led off the bottom of the first with a home run off Jake Arrieta (0-1), who made his first appearance since surgery last August to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.

After Jay Bruce tied the score with a home run off Cole in the third, Brett Gardner led off the bottom half with a drive down the left-field wall for the first over-the-wall, opposite-field home run of his big league career. Aaron Hicks added an RBI double later in the inning for a 3-1 lead, and Gio Urshela blew open the game with a three-run homer in the sixth on a changeup from Deolis Guerra that landed in the visitors’ bullpen in left-center.

Cole (3-0) allowed one run and five hits, struck out four and walked one on 91 pitches. He left after a 1-hour, 7-minute rain delay ahead of the seventh.

Signed to a $324 million, nine-year contract, Cole grew up a Yankees fan and at his signing news conference in December brought along the yellow sign he had held up as an 11-year-old at the 2001 World Series: “Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever.”

He reached 99.3 mph but he did not have his best arsenal. Cole threw 46 fastballs, 24 sliders, 18 curveballs and three changeups.

Cole’s streak of consecutive winning decisions is the sixth-longest behind Carl Hubbell (24), Roy Face (22) and Rube Marquard, Roger Clemens and Arrieta (20 each).

New York improved to 8-1 for the third time after 1988 and 2003. The major league-best Yankees have won seven straight — the equivalent of a...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Phillies-return-from-layoff-lose-to-Cole-and-15456240.php