Cole tosses 6 scoreless frames in 1st big league start since '24

Gerrit Cole made his first Major League start in 569 days on Friday, returning from Tommy John surgery to pitch six scoreless innings of two-hit ball against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. His last MLB appearance had been in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, and his first pitch back was clocked at 95.9 mph. Despite Cole's strong outing, the New York Yankees lost the game 4-2.