New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels

For five innings on Tuesday night, Gerrit Cole looked every bit like the rotation anchor the Yankees needed to kick off a critical late-season road swing, setting the stage for a 7-3 victory over the Angels. Then, with one sharp swing of Christian Moore’s bat, a comfortable four-run cushion evaporated, Cole’s night ended abruptly, and the Yankees’ veteran ace walked off the mound at Angel Stadium visibly frustrated -- his final line failing to tell the full story of his outing. Cole’s numbers -- 5 1/3 innings, eight hits, three earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts on 90 pitches -- looked like a typical mid-rotation battle on paper. But for a Yankees team currently 4 1/2 games behind the Rays in the American League East race, Cole’s 18th start since returning from Tommy John surgery was a continuous grind -- a constant battle through traffic and deep counts before his night unraveled in the sixth. Before that breaking point, New York's offense provided Cole with an early cushion. In the top of the first, Spencer Jones ignited the dugout with a long two-run homer to center field -- his second blast in as many nights -- before Jazz Chisholm Jr. went back to back with one of his own to build a quick 3-0 lead. "It makes a huge deal, especially with the pitchers we have and the bullpen," Chisholm said of the early spark. "I just feel like it's great to go out there, get the lead that we had, and make our pitcher feel comfortable." Chisholm’s 3-for-5 performance continued a strong multiweek stretch of production for the infielder. "We need it. He's capable of impacting the game in a profound way," manager Aaron Boone said of Chisholm's recent production. "He's doing good things and we need him."