Fastball

New York Yankees Cy Young Winner Joins Fun History with Dominance on Birthday

The New York Yankees lost on Sunday in a critical game against the Chicago Cubs, but Gerrit Cole remained dominant on the mound.

Brady Farkas

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field on Sept 8.
New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field on Sept 8. / Matt Marton-Imagn Images
In this story:

The New York Yankees suffered a big defeat on Sunday afternoon, losing 2-1 to the Chicago Cubs. With the loss, New York is now 82-61 on the season. They missed a chance to capitalize on a loss by the Baltimore Orioles as well, but the Yankees still lead the American League East by 0.5 games over Baltimore.

Despite the loss, ace right-hander Gerrit Cole was electric on the mound, surrendering just two unearned runs over six innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Cole got saddled with the tough-luck loss and is now 6-4 with a 3.36 ERA.

The Sunday start came on Cole's 34th birthday, and he placed himself in some fun team history with the effort.

Per Yankees researcher Katie Sharp:

Gerrit Cole #FunFact

Yankees with 6+ IP and 0 ER allowed on birthday:

Gerrit Cole (9/8/2024)
Dennis Rasmussen (4/18/1985)
Ron Guidry (8/28/1977)
Don Larsen (8/7/1956)

Those are some of the biggest names in team lore, so it's only fitting that Cole join them. Despite missing most of the first half of the season with injury, Cole has put together a solid year. He has struck out 85 batters in 75.0 innings and maintains the stuff that helped him win the Cy Young a season ago.

Lifetime, Cole is in his 12th season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and Yankees. The former No. 1 overall pick in the draft is 151-79 for his career. In addition to the Cy Young, he's also a multi-time All-Star. He's won two ERA titles as well.

The Yankees have a big series starting on Monday night with the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. ET.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published
Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/History