After putting up double-digit runs for the second night in a row, the Yankees are now tops in all of baseball with a collective .755 OPS, and lead the league in home runs.
Gerrit Cole is just happy those aren’t the numbers and hitters he has to face every fifth night.
“It’s brutal,” Cole said of the task for opposing pitchers. “There’s obviously a lot of power, and I think there’s different types of hitters. Judge and Stanton are obviously kind of unicorns, but we’re running out different looks, and every guy works the count and doesn’t take pitches off.”
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both homered again on Friday night, and Josh Donaldson homered for the second night in a row, the last Yankee bat to start finding his stroke. Gleyber Torres enjoyed another multi-hit night as he continues to trend closer toward his 2018 and 2019 self, and amid all that power, Isiah Kiner-Falefa also picked up two hits as a steady bat at the bottom of the order.
It’s a luxury Cole was able to enjoy on Friday, being given five runs of support by the third inning.
“We keep that focus and let our talents, our individual strengths, shine,” Cole said. “It’s really diverse and really tough to get through.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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