Gerrit Cole (33-New York Yankees) and Justin Verlander (40-New York Mets), who formed one of the most dominant one-two punchers for the Houston Astros in 2018 and 2019, faced off in the “Subway Series” of the New York rivalry.
The two pitchers went head-to-head in a side-by-side start for the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series at Citi Field in Flushing, N.Y. The game ended in a no-decision, with both pitchers going six innings and one run, but leaving without a win. Cole pitched six innings of four-hit ball with eight strikeouts and one run, while Verlander pitched six innings of three-hit ball with six strikeouts and one run.
The game remained scoreless through four innings. Cole struck first in the fifth. Francisco Lindor doubled and Tommy Pham hit an RBI triple. Verlander tied the game in the sixth on a Jose Trevino double and a Jake Bauers RBI single.
Cole had runners on first and second with no outs in the sixth, but retired the next three batters to end the inning without further damage. The Yankees scored two runs in the seventh, giving Cole the win, but it didn’t last long. The Yankees bullpen gave up two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Cole’s win was gone.
Speaking to MLB.com and other local media outlets after the game, Cole said, “The Mets have Hall of Famers like Verlander and Max Scherzer. It’s great to play with guys of that caliber. It had a playoff feel to it tonight.” “This is the most important game of the regular season,” said Verlander. It’s important for our team to win at this point. We’ve got to start winning now,” he said of the win for his team, which is now 1-9 in its last 10 games.
It’s been eight years since the two pitchers have faced off. It had been eight years since July 1, 2015, when Cole was with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Verlander was with the Detroit Tigers. Back then, Cole pitched 6⅔ innings of nine-hit ball with six strikeouts and two earned runs, and Verlander pitched six innings of six-hit ball with five strikeouts and three walks and three runs (two earned).
When Verlander was traded to Houston in September 2017 and Cole was acquired in January 2018, the pair combined to form the league’s 토토사이트 best one-two punch for two years until 2019. During that time, Houston won the American League West two years in a row with a 6+ win percentage. In 2019, the duo battled for the American League Cy Young Award, with Verlander finishing first and Cole second.
That year, they went to Game 7 of the World Series, only to finish as runners-up. Cole became a free agent with the Yankees in 2020, while Verlander, who led Houston to a World Series title last year, switched uniforms with the Mets as a free agent this year. This season, Cole was 7-1 with a 2.75 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 15 games (91⅔ innings), while Verlander was 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA and 39 strikeouts in eight games (45 innings).
In the other game, the Mets rallied for a 4-3 victory in extra innings on Brandon Nimmo’s game-tying double. Nimmo went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. The Mets, who ended their two-game series with the Yankees with a 1-1 tie to snap a two-game losing streak, are now 32-36, while the Yankees are 39-30.