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MINNEAPOLIS — Gerrit Cole made history Thursday night in the Yankees’ 10-7 win over the Twins — just not the kind he and his team would like.
The right-hander became the first pitcher in franchise history to concede three straight home runs to start a game when Luis Arraez, Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa successively homed to open the bottom of the first.
The three home runs came within four pitches. It was the first time Cole had allowed three home runs in an inning — let alone three consecutive hitters.
The streak ended when Cole Jorge Polanco left before eventually getting his first out by beating Max Kepler.
Cole wasn’t done yet. He gave up two more homers — a three-run shot against Buxton in the second inning and a solo blast against Trevor Larnach in the third. Cole was removed after just 2 ¹/₃ inningsr.
He ended up allowing seven carries and a career-worst five home runs before the Yankees saved him. He had given up just six home runs in his first 11 games.
“I kept them over the plate, court after court,” said Cole after the second-shortest game of his career. “I’ve never found a way to do better.”
Domingo German pitched three innings in a simulated game Thursday in Tampa, and Boone said the right-hander’s next appearance could be the start of a rehab spell.
“All reports say he’s doing pretty well,” said manager Aaron Boone of German, who was closed this spring with a right shoulder impingement. “We’re really encouraged by what we’ve seen down there in the first few months [of the season].”
Once he’s ready to join the Yankees, Boone said he could see Deutsch as a starter or helper.
With the Yankees set to play 20 games in 20 days after a free Monday, they may need a sixth starter at some point, especially with the workloads of Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino monitored.
Boone said the need for a spot starter was “imaginable.”
After hitting 10 home runs in 211 Plate appearances last season, Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka hit seven home runs in 11 Grapefruit League games this spring.
But that power has been oddly absent this season. He has yet to hit a home run in 93 plate appearances and has a tiny .427 OPS.
Boone said he wasn’t sure why Higashioka’s power punch went away.
Jose Trevino, who started Thursday, has been playing more than Higashioka lately but they continue to share time.
Boone pointed to Higashioka’s numbers against lefties as a particular concern.
“Even on seasons where he’s had some struggles, he’s usually brought that strong presence against lefties,” Boone said. “He just hasn’t gotten on track this year.”
Higashioka had an OPS of .791 against lefties in 2021 compared to .558 against righties.
He hasn’t scored at all so far this season, with an OPS of .425 against lefties and .428 against righties.
Higashioka, who didn’t start in Thursday’s win and went 0-1, doubled and hit a ball down the warning lane — both at left field — in Wednesday’s loss in Minnesota, but he has four extra-base hits in 2022 .
Boone said he’s seen some promising signs from Higashioka over the past few weeks and believes he “needs to get into a good rhythm on the plate” in order to get back into shape offensively.
“Sometimes when he gets into trouble, it’s because he’s not making good swing decisions,” Boone said. “I feel like he’s improved lately.”
But as in the case of the hot-hitting Trevino, Boone wants both catchers to focus on their defenses.
“They know this is their calling card,” Boone said.
Still, Boone is waiting for Higashioka to have a hot streak.
“There’s a lot for Kyle to pull off offensively, and hopefully the power that he has will show up a little bit at some point,” Boone said. “I know he’s working hard on that part of the game. … The first third of the season was a little bit tough for him … but we love what he does behind the plate.”
Aroldis Chapman (Achilles) is scheduled to host a bullpen session in the Bronx on Saturday, while another veteran assist, Shane Greene, could throw himself into the bullpen mix.
Greene, a right-hander, has only allowed three base runners in 5 ¹/₃ innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since signing a minor league contract with the Yankees.
