Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole brought out his A+ game for Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, and just like last weekend in Baltimore, one of the American League’s best offenses this season often was overmatched.
This time, the Yankees bats showed up, too, and there was no error leading to a bunch of unearned runs and an Orioles victory. This time, Cole was gifted three first-inning runs, five in the first two frames and he dominated from start to finish throwing a two-hit, complete-game shutout in a seven-inning game.
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One of the first things that Yankees manager Aaron Boone pointed out afterward was Cole’s “excellent pitch mix.” His opening comments included praise for the guy who has been behind the plate for Cole’s last two starts, Kyle Higashioka.
“They were great,” Boone said. “I thought they were on a really good page together.”
Hmmm.
Might this ace pitcher/No. 2 receiver tandem continue as a battery every fiver days?
“That could be in play,” Boone said. “It could be something we talk about.”
Interesting.
Almost interesting is that Cole has had personal catchers for long stretches during his two best seasons, so maybe working with Higashioka could trigger a great September and October that finally carries the Yankees back to the World Series.
But wait …
Just as that “something we’ll talk about” line was coming out of Boone' mouth, he added, 'I also feel like the relationship and the rapport that he’s had with Gary has been good as well, so we’ll continue to work through that."
Until last weekend, starting catcher Gary Sanchez caught all of Cole’s starts, and both pitcher and manager had praised his receiving after several of them. But was this legit complimenting or some undeserved public praise, which happens all the time in baseball?
The Yankees have been acknowledging Sanchez is having a dreadful season at the plate, but they’ve defended his catching despite continued problems blocking balls and sometimes missing pitches that don’t even hit the dirt.
It’ll be a tough call for the Yankees sticking with Cole and Higashioka because they’ll probably worry how it would affect Sanchez mentally. But what’s best for the team comes first, and Higashioka might be what gets Cole to pitching to his consistent 2020 superstar form.
The small-sample stats suggest the Yankees do have something to think about. Cole has a 3.91 ERA and opponents are batting .224 in Sanchez’s eight starts. With Higashioka catching, Cole has an 0.69 ERA (13 IP, 1 ER) and opponents are batting .128.
This isn’t the first time that Cole has clicked with a backup catcher. When Cole had a breakout season in 2015 going 19-8 with a 2.60 ERA pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he had more success with backup catcher Chris Stewart than starter Francisco Cervelli.
It was the same thing last year when Cole was 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA with the Astros, who acquired veteran backstop Martin Maldonado in a July 31 trade to spell starter Robinson Chirinos. Maldonado caught Cole’s start the next day, and the duo ended up working together for the rest of the regular season and playoffs.
Here is how Cole fared using personal catchers in the past:
2015 PIRATES
Cervelli: 124 starts, 12 with Cole
Stewart: 36 starts, 20 with Cole
Cole with Cervelli: 3.36 ERA, .253 OBA
Cole with Stewart: .221 ERA, .232 OBA
2019 ASTROS
Chirinos: 106 starts, 16 with Cole
Maldonado: 24 starts, 10 with Cole
Chirinos with Cole: 2.46 ERA, .189 OBA
Maldonado with Cole: 1.57 ERA, .150 OBA
Cole and Higashioka have a little history prior to 2020, too, as both are Southern California natives who were a battery as high school seniors for a Los Angeles Angels scout team that also included Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks.
This year, Higashioka did a lot of prep work for catching the Yankees ace by talking to Cole during games he wasn’t pitching.
“I try to talk to the guys when I’m on the bench to get a good idea how they like to throw and what works best for them so that hopefully when I’m out there things will run smoothly,” Higashioka said.
Here’s a sample how Higashioka thinks the game when working with Cole:
“The curveball, that’s definitely his slowest pitch, so it just provides a different look for the hitter when you’ve got a fastball 98 and then the curveball usually around 84. It is really tough (for a hitter) to cover a 14-mph difference if you’re sitting on one speed. So that’s kind of a big equalizer.”
Cole and Higashioka instead of Cole and Sanchez every five days could be more than an equalizer for the Yankees. Cole helped the small-market Pirates make the playoffs in 2015 while often working with a personal catcher and he helped pitch the Astros to the World Series last year working with one in August, September and October.
This year, the Yankees can’t worry about hurting Sanchez’s feelings or how it’ll affect his mindset if Boone has a hunch that the best way to get the most out of Cole is by pairing him with Higashioka. After all, the Yankees signed Cole for $324 million last winter with championships in mind, and 2020′s title is up for grabs.
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