NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole was relieved to have navigated Philadelphia's lineup unscathed when he walked off the mound in the seventh inning after a pitch-clock violation resulted in a walk.
"The Phillies are great. The lineup's a joke, they're so good," he said.
There is little laughing among the NL champions heading into their home opener. Philadelphia was held to two runs or fewer for the third time in four games, with Aaron Nola losing to Cole and the Yankees 4-2 Wednesday in a marquee matchup of premier pitchers.
"It was going to be a fun scrap," Cole said.