Padres-Yankees series wrap: What we saw from Gerrit Cole, Padres stars

NEW YORK – Juan Soto stumbled to the plate after fouling a Randy Vásquez sinker off his left knee. Shaken for a moment, Soto eventually sauntered back into the penalty area on a 3-2 count. The next pitch he saw was forcefully sent to the second deck of right field at Yankee Stadium, 400 feet away and 115 mph off his bat.

That two-run rocket in the fifth inning on Friday night marked Soto’s 10th home run of the year and gave the Padres the lead over the Yankees. Then, the next inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. made a 439-foot shot—another two-run home run into the second deck, this time into left field—it looked like maybe, just maybe, the Padres were back. The Yankees were unable to clear the deficit and fell 5-1.

That Friday night, the Padres returned to their hotel in downtown New York City with a sense of optimism after winning four of their last five games to date.

“I was a little angry,” Soto said on Friday. “I made a mistake myself. I don’t like that. Then he threw me the same pitch, trying to get me to make a mistake again. I was a little [ticked] out. I just took all my madness out on the ball.”

The Padres (24-29) won game one of the series on Soto and Tatis home runs that totaled 871 feet. The Yankees (32-23) took game two in yet another dramatic come-from-behind, walk-off win to force a rubber game over Memorial Day weekend in the Bronx.

It was all heading into what was expected on paper to be a pitching duel between a pair of longtime Cy Young contenders who have come close to winning the prestigious award but have yet to capture the honor. Expectations don’t always go as planned and Sunday’s matinee was no exception.

Yu Darvish and Gerrit Cole combined for 12 earned runs in just 8.2 innings. Darvish (3-4, 4.61 ERA) got no further than the third inning as the Yankees’ lineup completed a seven-run rally that forced manager Bob Melvin to take his ace out of the game before he could even get his ninth out of the game. match could be recorded. the afternoon. Cole (6-0, 2.93 ERA) wasn’t at his best either, as his recent tendency to give up multiple home runs extended into yet another performance. Still, he struck out nine against San Diego and the Yankees improved to 10-2 when he was on the mound this season.

Padres’ Jake Cronenworth takes Yankees ace Gerrit Cole deep in the first inning

The Yankees defeated the Padres 10-7 on Sunday in front of the most crowd (47,295) of the year. New York has won or split five of their last six series and is 14-6 in their last 20 games.

As the Yankees begin to resemble the Yankees, the Padres continue to stumble and sit in fourth place in the NL West. The win-now Friars stepped into the 2023 season with Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado and Soto forming a star-studded trifecta. Tatis, back from his 80-game PED suspension, was just on the horizon. That menacing unit has so far underperformed. The Padres pitching staff has allowed three double-digit runs this season, including their disappointing loss on Sunday. San Diego’s inconsistent play has led to stunning results.

“They had him on the strings, and with a guy like that, he’s always one or two pitches away from regaining control,” Cole said of the Yankees’ offense to Darvish. “I thought about their mentality, they were so prepared and so locked in and so focused. It’s such a blessing for a pitcher to have an attack like that, that can bring that dynamic of an inning together to really put yourself in a position to win. the game. It’s a nice luxury to have.”

The Yankees offense was able to save Cole after he allowed homers to Jake Cronenworth and Rougned Odor. The New York bats also overcame the embarrassing double-fault in the second inning that led to a pair of Padres runs. But Cole has a few more unfortunate trends this season that are worth keeping an eye on.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s walk-off RBI single seals the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Padres

With 12 major league-leading starts and 73.2 innings logged, and a third of the season on the books, Cole’s strikeout percentage is the lowest since his 2017 season with the Pirates. After a consistent 34.9% strikeout rate from 2018-2022, Cole has a 26.3% K rate year-to-date. His walks have also increased, from a 6.3% walk rate last year to 8.6% this season. And all this after a spectacular first month of outings that made it look like Cole walked away with this year’s American League Cy Young award.

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There is still time for the Yankees ace to make adjustments and get back to that April performance level (0 HR, 5 ER, 40.2 IP, 1.11 ERA). Cole and Ray’s left-hander Shane McClanahan are the only two pitchers to go 6-0 or better this year.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for three and a half seasons as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. She never misses a Rafael Nadal match no matter what country or time zone he is playing in. Follow her on Twitter @DeeshaThosar.