Gerrit Cole gets career-low 5 outs, pen leads Yankees over Tigers

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Gerrit Cole lasted a career-low 1 2/3 innings, and Clarke Schmidt combined with four relievers to pitch three-hit shutout ball and lead the New York Yankees over the Detroit Tigers 4-2 Tuesday night in a series opener.

On a frigid April night in Detroit, Cole needed 46 pitches to get two outs in the second before leaving with a 3-2 lead.

"I'm pretty disappointed," he said. "I was trying to be too perfect, but I still had enough in there to get the job done."

Cole, who came out of the dugout to throw long toss during the second-inning delay, matched his career high of five walks and allowed two runs and one hit, throwing just 37 of 68 pitches for strikes.

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New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone takes the ball from pitcher Gerrit Cole against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Tuesday, April 19, 2022.  (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

"I’ve certainly never had anything like that in my career before," he said. "But it’s not something we can’t get through."

Starting the third season of a $324 million, nine-year contract, the 31-year-old right-hander has a 6.35 ERA in three starts and has pitched into the sixth inning just once.

"I think he's poised for a big year for us," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He's going to carry us for a long stretch. It hasn't gone his way thus far, but he's close."

Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera singled off Cole leading off the second, his 2,996th hit.

New York’s bullpen got 22 outs without allowing a run. Schmidt (1-2) led the way, allowing two hits in 3 1/3 innings for his first major league win.

"That was huge," Boone said. "Even with an off