Gerrit Cole sinks Mariners as Billy McKinney continues to make most of opportunity – The Denver Post

With the Yankees looking to end a four-game losing streak on Tuesday, Gerrit Cole effectively played the part of stopper against the Mariners.

With the ace leaning heavily on his fastball and slider, Cole held Seattle to just a run in a 3-1 Yankees win. The right-hander totaled four hits, one walk, eight strikeouts and 105 pitches.

A fired-up Cole also added a finger wave and shoulder shrug after the Mariners appeared to take issue with him staring in the direction of second baseman Jose Caballero and their dugout at the end of the seventh inning. Cole had appeared annoyed with Caballero during their inning-ending at-bat.

The Yankees offense, meanwhile, somewhat shrugged off their recent woes and scored three runs against New York native George Kirby, who blanked the Bombers for eight innings in Seattle on May 31.

Kirby wasn’t awful on Tuesday, as he went seven innings while allowing eight hits, zero walks and four strikeouts over 95 pitches. But his defense didn’t help him in the first inning, when Anthony Rizzo was credited for an RBI double on a catchable ball that hit off the wall.

Rizzo, who has been scuffling, later hit another double as part of a three-hit night.

But the biggest blast off Kirby came in the second inning, when Billy McKinney crushed a two-run homer to right field. The 432-foot bomb was McKinney’s second of the year, and the non-roster invitee now has a .289 average and .887 OPS over 11 games since the Yankees promoted him from Triple-A.

Harrison Bader picked up a hit and a stolen base in his first game back from the injured list. He scored on McKinney’s home run.

The Mariners’ lone run off Cole came on a double from Jarred Kelenic in the sixth inning.

After doing just enough in their rematch against Kirby, the Yankees’ struggling offense gets to face Luis Castillo on Wednesday. The righty is enjoying another strong season despite a 4-5 record, as he owns a 2.73 ERA and 98 strikeouts over 82.1 innings.

The Yankees, meanwhile, will turn to rookie right-hander Jhony Brito. The 25-year-old has split his season between the majors and the minors and owns a 5.58 ERA over 40.1 innings at the highest level. Brito has been even worse in the minors, recording a 7.08 ERA over 20.1 innings.

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