Gerrit Cole pitched a two-hitter in seven innings, DJ LeMahieu opened the first inning with a home run and the New York Yankees hit three home runs to shut out the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.
New York was two and a half games ahead of the Orioles in the fight for the last berth to the AL postseason, starting a four-game series between the two teams.
The Yankees had lost 15 of 21 games to start the day, amid a series of injuries. They had fallen to third place in the East Division, behind Tampa Bay and Toronto.
Cole (5-3) started with 4 2/3 innings without a hit before Hanser Alberto hit a single. Still, the star pitcher would not have been in a position to officially score a no-hitter.
In 1991, Major League Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent headed a commission that voted unanimously to define a no-hitter as one of nine or more innings in which a team doesn’t hit unstoppable.
This year, the double cards were shortened to a pair of duels, of seven chapters each, to reduce the time teams spend in the parks during the shortened coronavirus campaign.
Cole, the $ 324 million ace, struck out nine and walked one. He finished his spectacular performance in 114 pitches.
LeMahieu, Brett Gardner and Kyle Higashioka each hit home runs off Alex Cobb (1-4), on their return from the disabled list. The right-hander had not pitched since August 29, for an unspecified reason.
For the Orioles, Cuban José Iglesias 3-0. The Dominicans Pedro Severino 3-0, Hanser Alberto 2-1. Venezuelan Renato Núñez 3-1.
For the Yankees, Venezuelan Gleyber Torres 2-1 with a run scored. The Dominican Gary Sánchez 2-0. AP (HN)