Gerrit Cole had a second straight impressive start on Friday against the Rays.
But because of a controversial pitch-clock violation, Cole almost didn’t make it to the top of the second inning.
The right-hander was called for an automatic ball after committing the violation after he apparently didn’t throw his final warm-up pitch until there were 20 seconds left on the clock.
Home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott docked Cole right after he threw the last warm-up pitch, which Cole, Austin Wells, and Aaron Boone all took issue with.
It led to a heated reaction from Cole, who had to be calmed down by Wells before he ended up retiring the side in order.
After the 6-1 win in which Cole pitched six innings of one-run ball, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner was still upset with the call — but appreciative of Wolcott’s reaction to his outburst.
“I didn’t agree with [the call] and I did lose my composure,’’ Cole said. “Quinn didn’t and I’m thankful he kept me in the game.”
He threw his first pitch of the inning to Josh Lowe — a 97 mph four-seamer — into the dirt.
“I was fired up,” Cole said. “I was desperately trying to calm back down and then spiked a fastball in the dirt and used the whole clock.”
But the incident didn’t lead to a rough outing, which is something of a credit to Wells, who helped calm the ace down on the mound.
“Just try to keep him and everybody level-headed and keep him in the game for as long as he [was] because if he goes out, we’re in a bind,’’ Wells said. “He’s a pro. He’s done it a long time. He knew his limits.”
Still, Wells acknowledged he was concerned Cole might get tossed.
“A little bit, definitely,” Wells said. “He was hot. He wants to be out there. He’s a competitor and he wants to get the calls.”
