Yankees ace Gerrit Cole pitches 4 strong innings in return from elbow injury, but Orioles prevail in extra innings WFTV [Video]

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole made a strong return from an elbow injury in an abbreviated outing Wednesday in his 2024 debut.

It didn’t net New York a win as the Baltimore Orioles secured a 7-6 extra-innings victory in a battle atop the AL East. Baltimore (48-25) now stands 1.5 games behind New York (51-25) for first-place in the AL East.

But the Yankees — who built the AL’s best record without the services of their best pitcher — are only stronger now with Cole’s return and can feel good about his first effort of the season against big-league hitters.

Cole pitched four innings, allowing three hits, one walk and two earned runs while recording five strikeouts. His four-seam fastball maxed out at 97 mph, a touch higher than his average fastball velocity of 96.7 mph in 2023.

He threw 61 pitches through four innings of one-run baseball then returned for the fifth. He …