It's Friday, which means it's time to slide into the weekend with MLB. There are many interesting games on the schedule starting today, but most baseball fans will want to see if Gerrit Cole can continue to win for the New York Yankees.
Yankees take on Red Sox
If anyone has become the ace of the New York Yankees rotation in the 2023 MLB season it is Gerrit Cole, who has yet to taste defeat in a total of 13 starts this year. The 32-year-old righty has been synonymous with consistency this season, as he has not had an outing where he has not gone five innings, let alone exceeded five earned runs allowed.
This resulted in Cole posting a 7-0 record with a 2.82 ERA, 79.2 innings pitched, 84 strikeouts and 1.13 WHIP, numbers he will now have to try to preserve against his biggest rival, the Boston Red Sox.
This will be the first time this season that the Newport Beach, Calif. native will face the ninth-ranked team, and he will do so to open the three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Cole has already measured most of Boston's lineup at least once, with Kiké Hernandez and Justin Turner as the main Achilles heels, who batted .412 and .500 in 17 and six at-bats, respectively.
Still, Cole will be looking for his eighth win and third in a row Friday night after a pair of strong performances against the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, where he could seal the victory.
#PorSiTeLoPerdiste: Nothing better than several bambinazos in our language!#LosDelBronx pic.twitter.com/DgAgW1ZIvD
- Yankees Baseball (@Yankees_Baseball) June 9, 2023
Braves have an easy night
Ozzie Albies sent Atlanta Braves fans into jubilation with his three-run, two-out home run in the 10th inning of Thursday's game against the New York Mets. Atlanta prevailed 13-10 to sweep them in the three-game series.
Orlando Arcia connected on a solo home run off closer David Robertson in the ninth inning to lead the National League East leaders to their fifth straight win. New York, which has lost six straight games for the first time since August 2019, had won 122 consecutive games before the ninth.
This time, the Mets (30-33) wasted two home runs by rookie Francisco Alvarez and an early grand slam by Brandon Nimmo. Justin Verlander, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, looked ineffective.
Atlanta overcame a 9-5 deficit and rallied from at least three runs down to win all three series. Albies homered off Tommy Hunter (0-1) to score pinch-runner Sam Hilliard, who came in automatically at second, and Travis d'Arnaud, who drew a base on balls.
The Braves now face the Washington Nationals in the first of three games tonight. That will continue to help their record, as the Nationals are the worst team in the National League this season.
