Yankees Open Twin Bill With Gerrit Cole Facing Pirates as Mitch Keller Brings 5.14 ERA
Updated
Updated · Pinstripe Alley · Jul 22
Yankees Open Twin Bill With Gerrit Cole Facing Pirates as Mitch Keller Brings 5.14 ERA
3 articles · Updated · Pinstripe Alley · Jul 22
Summary
Gerrit Cole makes his 11th start of 2026 in the opener at Yankee Stadium, facing Pittsburgh for the first time since September 2023 and only the third time in his career.
Cole enters with a 3.93 ERA over 55 innings and has helped steady New York, which has won six of its last eight after a rough three-week stretch driven by injuries.
Mitch Keller starts for Pittsburgh in the third year of his five-year, $77 million extension, but he has struggled to a 5.14 ERA in 19 starts—his worst full-season mark since 2021.
New York's lineup leans left-handed against Keller's splits, with Trent Grisham leading off ahead of Ben Rice, Spencer Jones and Cody Bellinger in the first game of the doubleheader.
The opener gives the Yankees a chance to secure an interleague series win for the third time in six tries while opening a pivotal twin bill against the Pirates.