QUEENS — Even Yankees manager Aaron Boone enthused over Wednesday night’s matchup between his ace, Gerrit Cole, and Mets headlining hurler Justin Verlander.
“It’s a Hall of Famer [in Verlander], it’s a guy in the middle of a Hall of Fame career in Gerrit,” That’s a marquee matchup — one you look forward to going to watch those guys go at it.”
They certainly disappoint.
Cole went six innings — including four perfect frames to start — and allowed one run on four hits while striking out eight. Verlander, at 40 years old and eight years Cole’s senior, answered with six innings of his own, yielding just one run on three hits with six punchouts.
Neither starter walked a batter, though their dominant showings were overshadowed by a frantic finish created by erratic bullpens and discomposed play in a 4-3 10-inning win for the Mets.
It was Cole’s fastball that kept the Mets at bay. Of his 95 offerings on Wednesday night, 64 were four-seamers. Mets batters whiffed or let it go for a strike a combined 23 times.
“The fastball was good,” Cole said. “So I stuck with it.”
For Verlander, adjustments made to his slider and curveball paved the way for a sorely-needed good outing after he was roughed up for five runs (four earned) on seven hits in three innings last week against the Atlanta Braves.
“I’ve just been working really hard to find it,” Verlander said. “I made some adjustments with my curveball and made some adjustments with my slider and I thought the results were pretty good.”
The three-time Cy Young Award winner certainly got a bit of extra juice playing under what he described as “the brightest light” in regular-season play, describing the Subway Series. But even more so against his former teammate in Cole.
The two spent two seasons together with the Astros, including a 2021 season that saw Verlander and Cole finish 1-2 in the American League Cy Young voting. Cole’s 20-5 record and 2.50 ERA wasn’t enough to eclipse Verlander, who went 21-6 with a 2.58 ERA to win his second of three career awards.
“It’s funny, we were talking about it a while ago and [Cole] was like, ‘Alright, when does this radio silence happen?'” Verlander said. “We’re both very focused and take our jobs extremely seriously. Even though we’re friends, the second we walk between the white lines, we know what it’s all about. It’s about our business and trying to win a baseball game.”
But there was still just enough time for a moment between the two pals on Wednesday night.
“I actually gave him a little hat tip before the game when we were warming up out of respect,” Verlander said. “I’ve enjoyed watching Gerrit from afar. It’s fun to pitch against him.”
While Verlander was able to lower his still-bloated ERA to 4.40 this season as he looks to build some consistency after missing the first month of the campaign with a shoulder strain, Cole continued to build upon what is becoming a legitimate Cy Young push in 2023.
He lowered his ERA to 2.75 despite the no-decision keeping his record at an impressive 7-1.
“It’s a pleasure to take the field with that caliber type of player,” Cole said of his meeting against Verlander. “It was electric. Playoff-type. Just fun.”
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