Gerrit Cole sets new Yankees record in Opening Day victory over Giants

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Gerrit Cole came out firing on Opening Day for the New York Yankees and set a new franchise record in the process.

Cole's tone-setting 11 strikeouts is now the Opening Day record for most strikeouts by a Yankees starter as he aided in the team's 5-0 win over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday afternoon in the Bronx.

It was an inauspicious start for Cole after walking the Giants' leadoff hitter, LaMonte Wade Jr., on four straight fastballs outside the strike zone.

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Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees pitches during the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium on March 30, 2023 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

But once he found that first strike against Michael Conforto in the next at-bat, Cole was basically locked in.

Cole's first seven outs of the ballgame were all strikeouts as the Giants couldn't catch up to his fastball, of which he used a bunch in his outing. 

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Cole would throw 95 pitches, 56 of them for a strike, while giving up two walks and three hits over six innings of work for his first win of the season.

This was a much better Opening Day outing for Cole compared to last season against the Boston Red Sox, against whom he allowed four runs in the first inning. The offense picked him up in that one, though, as Josh Donaldson would end up walking it off.

Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees pitches during the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium on March 30, 2023 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Offense was solid for New York in this contest, too, as Aaron Judge, coming off his historic 62-home run regular season in 2022, hit his first of the 2023 season on his first swing. The ball was scorched off Giants starter Logan Webb to dead center field, landing in Monument Park as the Yankee Stadium crowd erupted.

Gleyber Torres would add a two-run home run later on to make it a 3-0 game, while DJ LeMahieu and Judge would record RBI singles in the bottom of the seventh to add some insurance on the scoreboard. 

Once Cole came out of the game, manager Aaron Boone had to be pleased with his bullpen shutting down the Giants as well. Wandy Peralta was the only one to give up a hit, while Jonathan Loaisiga and Ron Marinaccio didn’t give one up in their outing.

Gerrit Cole #45 pitches in the first inning during the game between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in New York, New York. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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As a World Series favorite once again, the Yankees are surely happy they are off on the right foot for the new campaign.