Gerrit Cole strengthens case for All-Star start with win over Cubs: ‘Done my best’

Gerrit Cole is confident he finally has made a strong enough case for a “dream come true” honor. 

With the completion of his final outing before the All-Star break on Saturday afternoon during the Yankees’ 6-3 win over the Cubs in The Bronx, Cole has put himself in a good position to be chosen as the American League starting pitcher for the All-Star Game.

Cole, who also has never finished better than second in the Cy Young voting, has surprisingly never started an All-Star Game in his illustrious career. 

The 32-year-old ace tossed 7 ¹/₃ innings Saturday and surrendered three earned runs, five hits and one walk while striking out five batters to enter the break at 9-2 with a 2.85 ERA.

Cole likely will face his stiffest competition to get the starting nod for the game Tuesday night in Seattle from the Astros’ Framber Valdez and the Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi. 

“I’ve done my best,” Cole said, pointing out that his kids are reaching the age at which they can enjoy making the trip along with him. “That’s like a dream come true.

“Every time I’ve made it, early in my career, there’ve been Hall of Famers starting that game. … It’s a great learning process for me, to see how deliberately the great ones go about their business.” 

The majority of the discourse surrounding the Yankees in recent weeks has been regarding Aaron Judge’s toe injury, and how much his absence has hurt the club.

But where would the Yankees be without Cole? 

A pretty simple blueprint has emerged for the Yankees to break out of repeated losing streaks this season. It’s one that’s only at their disposal every fifth day, however — have Cole on the mound. 

The win Saturday snapped the Yankees’ three-game skid, making them 8-0 in games Cole has started following a loss. 

“Thought he was really solid again,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Kind of workmanlike. Had a couple of innings there where he was able to get some quick outs. Allowed him to get deep into the game.” 

Cole’s May 2 performance helped the Yankees end a four-game losing streak, his June 3 outing helped end a two-game skid and his June 2 gem halted another four-game slide. 

In total, the Yankees are now 14-5 in games Cole starts, good for a .737 percent winning percentage.

The team owns a 35-36 in all other games, a measly .483 winning percentage.

The 14 wins started by Cole are tied for second-most among any pitcher in MLB this season. 

“It’s a cool statistic,” Cole said. “I had a lead to work with today early. So I just went to work. It’s a team game, and to get wins, it takes good offense, good defense and good pitching. It’s a complete package. I don’t change the way I go about my job.

“I just try to give our team the best chance to win every single day.”