Video summary
Gerrit Cole secured a victory for his team in Arizona by implementing specific mechanical adjustments between innings to improve his pitching effectiveness. He focused on flushing out the previous batter quickly and tightening up his delivery to ensure the ball reached better areas of the field more consistently. A key part of this strategy involved increasing deception by staying more compact over his legs and avoiding the mistake of coming off the rubber too early, which helps prevent hitters from seeing his direction prematurely.
Despite these improvements, Cole acknowledged that the team did not execute a perfect performance, noting that there is still work to be done in the big leagues. He admitted that missing a crucial pitch to the glove side was a significant error during the inning, but he believed the subsequent adjustments helped regain control and get the ball into advantageous spots again. The pitcher emphasized that while making these changes mid-week or in the middle of a season is challenging, it is a necessary step for overcoming obstacles and maintaining competitiveness against strong opponents.
The conversation also addressed the absence of Aaron Judge due to his injury, with Cole expressing sympathy but highlighting the team's resilience and experience in such situations. He described Judge as a quick healer and hard worker who will return soon, while praising teammate Gleyber Torres for having an outstanding season filled with smart adjustments and proficiency at the plate. Cole noted that regardless of lineup changes, the group maintains a positive mentality and plays well together, viewing injuries as temporary realities rather than defining setbacks.
Looking ahead, the team remains confident in their ability to handle future challenges despite facing significant tests throughout the summer. Cole described the squad as perfectionists who strive for excellence but recognize the importance of overcoming various hurdles to succeed. The focus now shifts to continuing fine-tuning their approach and preparing for upcoming games, with the belief that their strong response to adversity so far sets a solid foundation for continued success on the road and at home.
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Garrett, what adjustments did you make
in between [music] starts that allowed
you to go out there and give them six?
>> Um, [clears throat] I mean, I just I
tried to flush the last one uh as quick
as possible and just get on to uh
tightening up a little a little bit of
the delivery. Um, and just making sure
we got the ball to better areas more
often.
>> You mentioned the delivery. Both Aaron
Boon and Matt Blake before the game
mentioned trying to get more deception.
How do you get more deception? Uh, I
think I I think overall I just kind of
need to stay a little bit more compact,
a little bit more over my legs. Um, and
deliver the ball, uh, you know, deliver
the baseball while while getting through
the baseball, you know, not not coming
off the baseball too early. So, um, a
little bit of an adjustment there in
terms of staying more compact.
>> Is that a hard adjustment to make middle
season or the middle of a week even?
>> Yeah, I mean, I don't think we did a
perfect job tonight. I think we moved
the needle in the right direction. Um,
but um, I think there's still some meat
on the bone there and it's not easy, but
it's it's necessary. It's the big
leagues.
>> That home run to uh, the home run ball
by Carol, just mislo on that one.
>> Yeah. Uh, that was uh, I was missing a
lot um, that inning to the glove side
first time out of the stretch and uh, I
thought I made some good adjustments
after that mistake pitch to get the ball
back to better areas. You guys start the
day with the news about Judge going on
the IIL to respond in this fashion. What
does that tell you about this group?
>> Yeah, I mean, we're obviously bummed for
Aaron and Aaron's probably bummed, too.
Um, but,
you know, we we've we've been in this
position before this year. So,
unfortunately, it's uh it's our reality
at this point. And um hey man, we came
out tonight with a good mentality and we
played really good baseball and and
that's a recipe for success. Um
regardless of who's in the lineup, you
know what I mean? So Aaron is a quick
healer and a hard worker. He'll he'll be
back sooner than later for us. So um in
his absence, we'll hold the fort.
>> And Rice now 39 home runs in this
season. Just what have you thought of
his production and what he has meant to
this team?
>> Special special year. Um has made some
really good adjustments. um from
previous years going into this year and
and I think he's really started to, you
know, kind of heat back up here the last
few weeks um after having to make some
adjustments in the middle of the season.
So, you know, not only is he really
proficient with the bat um but he's a
smart player and a hard worker, which is
leading him to have just a really
outstanding season for us.
>> Sooner than later, you still have hope
that he could be back at some point.
>> Yeah, why not? Was
it was the adjustment on on all pitches
or certain pitches more
>> the delivery just in general? Yeah.
Yeah. Um
well, you want to make sure that you're
getting through the pitches. Uh you're
staying behind your front side so you're
not showing your direction too early. So
things like this can, you know, happen
to really anybody. Um and we're always
fine-tuning. So a step in the right
direction. I thought the delivery was
better tonight
[cough and clears throat]
starting pitching going
be the road service.
>> Yeah, I think I mean we have a lot of
confidence in here. I mean for the most
part of the summer we've been tested
really really hard and responded by and
large really really well. I mean we're
always striving to a lot of
perfectionists in here. you know, we're
always striving to be perfect and always
striving to be the best, but um you
know, the reality is we've had a lot of
obstacles that we've had to overcome and
by and large, like I said, we've played
really well. So, we're looking forward
to more challenges to