Gerrit Cole: Yankees Shouldn’t Expect Many Mistakes From Ex-Teammate Justin Verlander

Verlander struggled in his first postseason start, but Cole isn’t expecting a repeat from the Astros ace.

Less than 24 hours after defeating the Guardians in the American League Division Series, the Yankees will begin a Championship Series rematch with the Astros.

Astros ace and Cy Young hopeful Justin Verlander will get the ball in Houston for Game 1 on Wednesday, giving New York’s offense a daunting task right off the bat. Verlander struggled in his first postseason start, but former ‘Stros teammate and current Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is not banking on a repeat performance.

"He's probably gonna try to put you in a position to pick your poison, and we're gonna need to execute,” Cole said after New York’s 5-1, Game 5, ALDS win over Cleveland. “He's not gonna give us many things to hit or make many mistakes. He's been doing this for a long time and he's going to the Hall of Fame. So we'll see what we can do against them. Hopefully we play a really complete game and that'll give us our best chance to win."

Verlander, 39, is coming off a spectacular regular season after Tommy John surgery limited him to just one game in 2020 and forced him to miss the entire 2021 campaign. The righty returned with a vengeance, leading the A.L. in wins (18) and ERA (1.75) in 2022.

But Verlander struggled in Game 1 of the Astros’ Division Series, allowing six earned runs to the Mariners on Oct. 11 after pitching on extended rest. On Wednesday, he will pitch on extended rest once again, with Jameson Taillon opposing him.

The matchup kicks off a series that was seen by many as a collision course based on the regular season and past postseasons. The Yankees lost the ALCS to the Astros in 2017 and 2019, and the two first-place clubs met seven times during the 2022 regular season. Houston went 5-2.

Cole, however, did not take a rematch for granted – and knows October baseball comes with chaos.

"Postseason's crazy,” the righty replied when asked if he knew the Yankees and Astros would meet again. “If I was in the National League, you probably would have said that we had to get to the World Series through the Dodgers or something like that. So you don't look too far ahead. When it's done, it's done. But outside of that, it's not.

“So it's done now and that's who our opponent is, and we'll have to take care of business."

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• Gleyber Torres Gets 'Revenge' on Josh Naylor, Rocking Baby as Yankees Clinch

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