AL DIVISION SERIES: ROYALS VS YANKEES

October 5, 2024

Gerrit Cole

Yankee Stadium

New York Yankees

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Yankees 6, Royals 5

Q. Aaron was just asked about your outing tonight and he called it a little bit of a grind. How would you evaluate tonight?

GERRIT COLE: Yeah, it was a battle back and forth. We played outstanding defense, really. That was the highlight of the night for me. Judge running down the ball in center, Verdugo with the sliding catch to kill the rally and Juan Soto with the perfect throw to get Salvador. That kept us in the ballgame.

I made my fair share of mistakes, that's for sure. Need to be sharper. But they put a couple really good pitches in play, too, and one was the Melendez homer.

Q. What was it about their approach that made it such a battle for you?

GERRIT COLE: They were just putting really good swings on a lot of good pitches. I think they obviously strung together good at-bats, as well. From the walk to the homer to a couple base hits with a walk in between, yeah, they were on top of their game for sure.

Q. Garrett, did the nine days off affect you in any way?

GERRIT COLE: I mean, no.

Q. In terms of your executing your pitches and adjustments you were able to make in game or if you felt you were sharpening in the game, how did that feel for you tonight? Were you able to make adjustments?

GERRIT COLE: Yeah, we definitely tried to make some adjustments. Look, three mistake sliders over the plate today, and the two walks. We had really a few good innings, sharp pitch count, but then a couple of those innings with the sharp pitch count, they put really good swings on really good pitches and we just played good defense.

Yeah, we're looking forward to making some adjustments next time out.

Q. Did you end on a note that makes you feel like taking a more regular turn next time? You feel good about where you are heading into that?

GERRIT COLE: Yeah, yeah, certainly, and just going to try to look at the film and learn from the mistakes.

Q. On that sliding catch from Verdugo with where it was hit, did you think he had a chance to make that play?

GERRIT COLE: Yeah, was the ball fair or foul? I'm not really sure. I think foul? Fair. Yeah, that even makes it a better catch. Right off the bat, obviously I see weak contact high in the air and definitely think we had a chance at the ball. He did a wonderful job tracking it down and timed his slide perfect and made it look easy.

Q. When you have a bat like Gurriel's and 11 pitches, do you manage to avoid getting frustrated or does it frustrate you?

GERRIT COLE: Yeah, I've seen Yuli do that a lot of times to be honest. He's a wonderful baseball player and a wonderful hitter, spoiling the fastball up at his eyes was something else.

It was a good battle. Obviously it went 11 pitches which is not ideal. Trying to end the at-bat sooner than that, but it's postseason baseball. That's the way things go.

The opposition is going to throw good at-bats at you, and you're going to have to handle them.

Q. We saw you give a wave to the bleachers on your way out to warm up today. How would you describe the atmosphere today?

GERRIT COLE: Wow, incredible atmosphere. Yeah, I don't think I've ever done that in my life, but I don't think I've ever had a roll call all the way out from the dugout. So that was really special.

Q. Verdugo and Clay Holmes are both guys who have struggled in the second half. What's it like as a teammate to see them come through and make a big contribution here?

GERRIT COLE: Yeah, obviously we needed them tonight. It's a team effort day in and day out, and especially in the postseason you're going to see contributions from people you don't normally expect, and you're going to see just kind of magical baseball. When guys like that have been going through it a little bit and come through in a big spot, it makes it that much sweeter.

Q. How much confidence do you have when Weaver comes in there with two outs in the eighth and then closing it out in the ninth?

GERRIT COLE: He's got a really good idea of what he's doing. His command is impeccable. He uses all four quadrants of the strike zone. There's really not a matchup that makes you super uncomfortable. He's an excellent reliever for us, been pitching multiple innings. He's been remarkably consistent all year, so super confident.

Q. I was curious your at-bats against Gurriel, seemed like you were looking at him smiling, kind of laughing your way through a couple of those. I know you guys played together in Houston. Walk me through those matchups?

GERRIT COLE: Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have broke my demeanor, but he's probably the best Cuban hitter of all time. I just have a ton of respect for him. He's a hell of a competitor, hell of a ballplayer. I need to be better against him next time.