Cole reaches 99.6 mph in 6th rehab start, likely has one more minor outing before rejoining Yanks

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MOOSIC, Pa. (AP) — Gerrit Cole reached 99.6 mph with his four-seam fastball, throwing 86 pitches over 5 1/3 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against the Syracuse Mets on Saturday night in likely his next-to-last minor league injury rehabilitation start before rejoining the New York Yankees.

Returning from reconstructive elbow surgery on March 11 last year, Cole threw 56 pitches for strikes and averaged 97 mph with his fastball.

“Some good velocity tonight, some good locations and, yeah, some some good quick innings and some some innings that tested us,” Cole said. “I’m just getting stronger and stronger every outing.”

He allowed one run and six hits with six strikeouts and one walk his sixth minor league start, his first at Triple-A after two for High-A Hudson Valley and three for Double-A Somerset. He was pulled with an 0-2 count to Eric Wagaman and relieved by Yerry De Los Santos with a 2-1 lead in a 6-2 loss.

Cole has a 4.71 ERA over 28 2/3 innings, allowing 28 hits while striking out 28 and walking three. His pitch count was up from 77 in his previous outing.

“It’s been a good progression," Cole said. "Pitch count’s steadily increasing. Recovery’s been good and velocity and command are steadily increasing, as well.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Cole probably will make one more minor league start after this weekend.

“It’s just a really long rehab,” Cole said. “If you include the offseason from the year prior, it’s been about 17 months since I last performed at the big leagues., so no matter how you slice it, that’s a long time.”

Jackson Cluff singled on a first-pitch slider with one out in the third to become the Mets' first runner, and Kevin Parada blooped an opposite-field single to right on a 2-0 slider. Ji Hwan Bae hit a two-out grounder to the right side and reached on an infield single as first baseman Ernesto Martinez Jr. was slow with the toss. Cluff kept on running and scored just ahead of Cole's throw to the plate.

Cole gave up three straight hits in the fourth. Wagaman doubled and was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Jonathan Ornelas trying to score on Yonny Hernández's single.

A 35-year-old right-hander, Cole is a six-time All-Star and the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner.

He made his first minor league rehab start April 17. While position players’ minor league rehab assignments are limited to 20 days, pitchers have 30 days and those recovering from Tommy John surgery may receive three consecutive 10-day extensions.

Elmer Rodriguez was recalled by the Yankees on Saturday and is set to start Sunday in the Subway Series finale at the Mets.

With Max Fried sidelined by a bone bruise in his left elbow, New York's rotation also includes Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlitter, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers.

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