Cole calls Mets outing 'disappointing' amid velocity drop

Gerrit Cole's velocity was down in one of the roughest outings of his career Tuesday when he allowed four home runs and failed to record a strikeout during a 9-7 loss to the New York Mets.

"Disappointing," the New York Yankees ace said of the outing, according to Greg Joyce of the New York Post. "I didn't really give us a good chance to win tonight. Didn't execute enough good pitches as a whole."

Cole's fastball velocity dropped to as low as 91 mph, which is nearly 6 mph slower than his career average. The right-hander, who also nearly touched 99 mph during the outing, admitted to dialing back his four-seamer to improve his command.

"I was very encouraged by the first inning," Cole said. “That was free and easy. But there's a certain point where it's like, my objective is to get deep into the ballgame and I'm not quite sure I'm ready to just keep sitting 97-99. And we're not in the strike zone enough with it."

Cole allowed two homers to Mark Vientos and one apiece to Harrison Bader and Brandon Nimmo before he was pulled after four innings. He only generated five whiffs and failed to record a strikeout for just the second time in his career.

The 2023 AL Cy Young winner, who entered Tuesday's outing with one start under his belt this season because of an elbow injury, is still pleased with the progress he's making.

"The progression has been nailed," Cole said, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

"This is the first time we've had the challenge of 28 pitches (in an inning). It's the first time we've touched 99 mph. It's the first time we've got past 70 pitches. So I feel pretty good in those regards, under the umbrella that this was a pretty tough night."