Gerrit Coles nightmare start dooms Yankees in loss to Padres in missed chance to gain on Rays
SAN DIEGO — Back-to-back-to-back turned out not to be the ultimate backbreaker. But the fourth home run that Gerrit Cole allowed Sunday was. Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.Cole gave up three straight homers to begin his outing, and while the Yankees staged a late rally to account for those three runs, it still was not enough as they fell to the Padres 4-3 in the series finale at Petco Park. The four solo shots off Cole, on a day when their lineup was stymied by former teammate Michael King, sank the Yankees and cost them a chance to pick up a game on the Rays with time running out to do so. After wrapping up a 3-3 West Coast trip — including potentially their last series without Aaron Judge — the Yankees (81-62) flew home trailing the Rays by four games for the division with 19 games left, while the Red Sox crept within 2 ¹/₂ games of them for the top AL wild card. King, in his second career start against the Yankees after he was the centerpiece of the trade return for Juan Soto, tossed six shutout innings.
He gave the Yankees a chance to get back in it late, as he lost his command in the fifth inning and loaded the bases with two outs, but they were unable to take advantage as Cody Bellinger flew out to end the threat. Then, after Cole gave up his fourth home run of the day to Luis Campusano to put the Padres (75-68) ahead 4-0 in the seventh inning, the Yankees mounted a comeback in the top of the eighth against lefty Adrian Morejon.It included an RBI double from Spencer Jones, his latest left-on-left success, and an infield single from pinch hitter Amed Rosario that turned into two more runs with an assist from Morejon’s throwing error, pulling the Yankees within 4-3. But after José Caballero, pinch running for Rosario, was thrown out trying to steal second, Jasson Domínguez flew out to squash the rally. Mason Miller then slammed th...