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• By Ben Stinar

• Updated May 22, 2026 at 9:41pm

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 22: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees looks on during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on May 22, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)

On Friday, the New York Yankees played the Tampa Bay Rays (at home) in the Bronx.

Gerrit Cole (who made his 2026 season debut) went 6.0 innings, allowing just two hits and no runs.

Cole had not pitched in an MLB game since 2024.

MLB World Reacts To Cole’s Performance

GettyGerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees pitches during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on May 22, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Here’s what people were saying about Cole:

Bryan Hoch: “And to think, the initial plan was for Gerrit Cole to still be in the Minors tonight. Six scoreless innings vs. the Rays. He has looked terrific in his return.”

@TJStats: “Gerrit Cole made his 2026 debut! The Yankees ace fired off 6 scoreless IP against the 1st place Rays as he sat at 96 mph — right in line with his pre-injury levels. The rest of his arsenal looked solid with just his cutter missing from the mix It’s great to see him back!”

@GreenfieldMax18: “It was good to see Gerrit Cole again. Fastballs looked good including a revamped sinker, he had pretty good command of them too which was encouraging. Secondary stuff looked good but he struggled to command them consistently (expected). I liked what I saw. Hope to see more.”

@AlexWilsonESM: “Gerrit Cole hasn’t pitched in over a year in the majors… He just dominated one of the HOTTEST teams in baseball. 6 IPs | 2 hits | 0 ER What an absolute demon”

Underdog MLB: “Gerrit Cole in season debut: 6 IP 0 ER 2 K 2 H 3 BB 72 Pitches First game since 2024 World Series Game 5.”

@SharpStats17: “Gerrit Cole allowed just 3 hard-hit (95+ mph exit velo) batted balls out of 17 total batted balls. That 17.6% hard-hit rate allowed is tied for his 5th-lowest in any start of his Yankee career, and lowest since June 14, 2022 vs Rays (6.7%).”