New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) reacts after recording a strikeout against the Houston Astros to end the game at Minute Maid Park. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Gerrit Cole refused to come out of game in shutout win

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 7/11/21

Gerrit Cole threw more pitches in Saturday night’s game than any pitcher has thrown in an outing this season, but he wasn’t about to let someone else come in and finish his shutout for him.

Cole allowed just three hits in a complete game shutout over the Houston Astros. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone made a mound visit to talk to his ace. Boone must have floated the idea of pulling Cole, but the right-hander wasn’t having it. Cole appeared to enthusiastically tell Boone, “I’m finishing this motherf—ing game right now.”

You can see the exchange between Cole and Boone below, but beware that the clip contains inappropriate language:

Gerrit Cole refuses to come out of the game, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/hGLlTUY9Sp

— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) July 11, 2021

Cole had thrown 126 pitches at the time, but Boone let him have his way. Cole rewarded the manager by striking out Yordan Alvarez on three straight fastballs. The Yankees held on to win 1-0.

Cole was rocked in his two outings prior to Saturday’s, so you can understand why he wanted to finish the game. After allowing a total of 14 hits and nine earned runs in his previous two starts, Cole allowed just three hits against Houston.

There have even been some questions about whether Cole can pitch effectively with the new foreign substance rules in place, but he certainly quieted those Saturday.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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