The New York Yankees made the call that folks weren’t sure they would make.
Gerrit Cole is going to start Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Despite struggles late in the season, Cole will get the ball for the game in Tropicana Field that could be crucial for the Yankees to win in what is just a best-of-five series.
The Cole Train comes to Tampa for ALDS Game 1 š#RepBX pic.twitter.com/uTSBdY0ba3
ā New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 2, 2026
Whether or not the Yankees should be starting Cole will only reveal itself on Saturday.
For now, there is a cool bit of history.
Gerrit Cole’s History
Cole has a long history of starting Game 1 in postseason series.
This will be his ninth Game 1 start (if you also include the single-game Wild Card Series that used to exist).
That’s tied for fifth-most all-time, according to MLB Network’s Sarah Langs.
Tied with Cole with nine of these starts? CC Sabathia.
In fourth place on the all-time Game 1 starts list is Greg Maddux, who had 11.
There’s a tie for second place: Both Clayton Kershaw and Jon Lester started 12 of these games.
And alone in first place, potentially for a long time: Justin Verlander, with 14.
This will be the 9th time Gerrit Cole starts Game 1 of a postseason series (including singular Wild Card Game), tying CC Sabathia for 5th-most all time, behind:
Justin Verlander: 14
Jon Lester: 12
Clayton Kershaw: 12
Greg Maddux: 11 https://t.co/NgopsVMhCQā Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 2, 2026
Gerrit Cole Stats
Cole finished the 2026 regular season with a 3.61 ERA. That’s his worst mark since 2017.
To be fair, it’s still a really quality number, but Cole did prove a bit homer-prone late in the year. He also had his lowest strikeout rate (9.3 per nine innings) since that 2017 season, as well.
Cole has been a great playoff pitcher in his career. He has a 2.77 ERA in the postseason.
In the Yankees’ 2024 playoff run to the World Series, he had a 2.17 ERA in five games.
Cole’s most recent Game 1 start was in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series. He allowed just one run in six innings.
Cole has once faced the Rays in an ALDS Game 1, as well. That was in 2020. He went 6.0 innings and allowed three runs, including two home runs — Randy Arozarena with the first one, and Ji-man Choi with the second.
That game clearly has no real bearing on what happens on Saturday. The Rays beat the Yankees for the AL East title. Now, the Yanks will try and avenge that by potentially winning the ALDS. Cole will have to set the tone on the mound.
Yankees’ Gerrit Cole Ties CC Sabathia in MLB History