Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

NEW YORK – Right-hander Gerrit Cole wasn’t given a chance to give the Yankees a quality start against the Twins on Friday night at Yankee Stadium. Mother Nature played a role in his five innings on the mound, but at least the Yankees won the game, 5-2, and snapped their seven-game losing streak. Cole pitched the first three innings, allowing one run, and then the rain came down, which caused a 53-minute delay. During those three innings, Cole retired nine of the 11 hitters he faced. His only blemish was in the first inning, when he allowed a two-out homer to Kody Clemens. Cole would then retire seven of the next eight hitters he faced before play stopped. During the delay, Cole had a bullpen session. He had four ups and threw from eight to 15 pitches during each session. After play resumed, Cole came out for the fourth and allowed an RBI single to Victor Caratini. After the inning ended, manager Aaron Boone was going to take Cole out of the game. Cole had already thrown 78 pitches at that point, but he refused to exit. “I definitely wasn’t coming out,” Cole said. “I said, ‘I would like to stay in the game, please.’” Did Cole really say “please”? “It was implied,” Cole said. It worked out, as Cole held the Twins scoreless in the fifth. Cole ended up pitching five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out seven without walking a batter.