NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole stared down José Caballero and wagged a finger at the Seattle Mariners’ dugout 15 times after striking out the side in the seventh inning, a pointed response to the rookie’s repeated step-outs during the New York Yankees’ 3-1 win on Tuesday night that stopped a four-game losing streak.
After Caballero stepped out with an 0-2 count in the seventh, Cole threw a 97 mph fastball to the screen. The Yankees' ace got Caballero swinging on a full-count fastball, stared at him as he walked off the mound, then turned to the Mariners' dugout and wagged his right index finger over and over.
Plate umpire Dan Bellino then walked toward the New York dugout and had an intense discussion with manager Aaron Boone.
Cole (8-1) allowed one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and a walk. He received a standing ovation when he was replaced by Clay Holmes, then raised his right index finger and thumb to tip his cap to the crowd of 43,130 as he walked to the dugout.
Cole is 4-0 with a 1.87 ERA following a Yankees loss this season, and New York is 7-0 in those starts.
Holmes got five straight outs for his ninth save in 11 chances, ending a game that took just 2 hours, 9 minutes.
Anthony Rizzo had an RBI double off the right-field wall in the first against George Kirby (6-6), and Billy McKinney hit a 432-foot, two-run homer in the second, providing a boost to a Yankees offense that entered with major league lows of a .192 batting average and 49 runs in June.
Jarred Kelenic hit an opposite-field RBI double for Seattle in the sixth, a ball off the left-field wall after McKinney broke slowly.
New York is 5-8 since Aaron Judge injured his right big toe on June 3, and New York is just 9-14 with its star slugger on the injured list this season. The Yankees are 31-19 when the AL MVP is available.
Rizzo went 3 for 4, breaking out of a 4-for-48 (.083) slide that began when he injured his neck in a collision at first base with San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. on May 28.
Other Yankees are in deep funks.
Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts, dropping to .111 (5 for 45) with 17 strikeouts since returning from a hamstring injury. Josh Donaldson was 0 for 3, falling to .150 (6 for 40) since coming back from his hamstring strain. Both were repeatedly booed.
Kirby, a native of suburban Rye, allowed eight hits in seven innings with four strikeouts and no walks. A large contingent of family and friends were on hand.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: RHP Trevor Gott (lower back muscle spasm) was with Triple-A Tacoma to make a rehab appearance.
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (strained left forearm, sore back) allowed one run over three innings for Double-A Somerset against New Hampshire, his first game since a two-inning spring training outing for New York against Atlanta on March 5. Rodón struck out five, walked one and allowed one hit, throwing 27 of 42 pitches for strikes.
UP NEXT
Mariners: RHP Luis Castillo (4-5, 2.73 ERA) is on the mound Wednesday night. He has lost three straight starts for the first time since Aug. 25 to Sept. 5, 2021.
Yankees: RHP Jhony Brito (3-3, 5.58) will be recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make his first start since May 20, filling an opening caused by Saturday’s rainout in Boston that forced a doubleheader Sunday.
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