Anthony Rizzo, Juan Soto slug homers in Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s spring debut

The Yankees’ bats exploded for eight runs on four home runs in an 8-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.

Here are the takeaways…

-Gerrit Cole took the mound for his first start of the spring and it was a bit of a mixed bag for the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.

Cole tossed 39 pitches over two innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits while striking out one. The right-hander struggled in the first, throwing 22 pitches and allowing a two-run home run to Daniel Vogelbach before Aaron Boone removed him from the game as his pitch count was getting too high.

Vogelbach turned on a 96 mph four-seamer on the inside corner of the plate, but Cole settled down when he returned to the mound in the second (which spring training rules allowed).

His only other run came after he was lifted in the third inning with a runner on, but Alex Bustamante allowed the run to come in.

-Anthony Rizzo and Juan Soto each continued their hot starts to spring training with three home runs between them, two from Rizzo – including a grand slam.

Rizzo’s home runs are of significant note as it shows he may finally be healthy following last season’s concussion. The injury cost Rizzo the second half of the season and resulted in an alarming dip in his offensive production for two months last year. Rizzo now has six RBI this spring.

-Oswaldo Cabrera, fighting for a bench spot, did not do himself any favors Friday night. He went 0-for-3 at the plate and a defensive miscue allowed a run to score in the third.

With a runner on second and two outs, Blue Jays’ Ernie Clement popped a ball up behind the left side of the infield where both Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu backed up to catch the ball but a miscommunication allowed it to fall in. It appeared LeMahieu backed off when he saw Cabrera was closer to make the play, but Cabrera let the ball fall in, allowing the run to score.

-Everson Peireira, also fighting for a roster spot, went 2-for-3 and crushed a two-run home run in the second inning.

-Journeyman reliever Dennis Santana looked impressive, pitching two scoreless innings and striking out four.

HighlightsWhat’s next

The Yanks’ spring training schedule rolls on Saturday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 p.m.