The Yankees really needed Gerrit Cole to be good on Sunday. They were facing one of the American League’s best starting pitchers in the early going in Pablo López. They were down one of their top offensive producers having lost Giancarlo Stanton to the injured list prior to the game. They were a loss away from dropping a four-game series to a Minnesota Twins team they have dominated for the last two decades.
When it was all over, Cole had delivered three words rarely used together in modern baseball: complete game shutout.
A gem.