Source: The Patriot Light | AWK Network | VIEW ORIGINAL POST ==>
TAMPA — The word of the night for Gerrit Cole: change.
A year after he made just one spring start before his elbow began barking to begin a monthslong saga, Cole’s arm and elbow felt plenty changed.
“I feel way different [than this time last year],” Cole said after his first Grapefruit League outing Friday. “I really like where I’m at. I liked what I saw.”
The Yankees ace physically feels better, and he feels good about his arsenal, too — which now includes a more emphasized and tweaked changeup.
Cole showed off his health and his newest weapon in 3 ¹/₃ innings of a 6-3 win over the Blue Jays at Steinbrenner Field in which he allowed a run and three hits, hit one batter and struck out five.
The righty was sharp, returned for a batter in the fourth inning because he was so efficient and finished with 46 pitches (including 33 strikes).
His four-seam fastball sat around 95 mph, which is a positive for late February, but his changeup was the most intriguing development.
A pitch Cole barely threw last year — used just 4 percent of the time — was featured 15 times and generated three whiffs on seven Toronto…
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