Losers of six straight, the Yankees turned to their ace to bail them out.
Instead, Gerrit Cole’s day began by digging his club a bit deeper.
Cole allowed six runs on seven hits (including two homers) in four innings, putting the Yankees’ offense in a 6-0 hole early against the Red Sox on Saturday in The Bronx.
The All-Star entered with a 2.55 ERA in outings that followed a Yankees loss — games in which his club went 9-2. The stopper, though, was stomped.
Cole loaded the bases in the second inning on two hits and a walk.
With one out, No. 9 hitter Luis Urias swatted a first-pitch cutter for a grand slam that stunned the crowd on a sunny afternoon.
Urias had smacked just two home runs all season.
Two innings later, Cole allowed a single to Pablo Reyes before believing he had struck out No. 8 hitter Connor Wong.
Cole was unhappy with what became ball three.
The next pitch, a middle-of-the-plate four-seamer, was blasted over the right-field wall for a 6-0 lead.
Aaron Judge eventually made it 6-1 with a sixth-inning homer.
The six earned runs represented a season-worst for Cole, who has been mounting a Cy Young-caliber season for a team that has needed him.
As the Yankees’ season slips away, their ace slipped, too.
