NEW YORK — The Yankees’ losing streak just got much worse. Gerrit Cole left Tuesday night’s game in the fourth inning with what the team said is left hamstring tightness. The ace had just given up a sacrifice fly to Reese McGuire with two outs when he signaled to the dugout for the trainer.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone and the trainer went out to the mound to check on Cole. He walked off slowly with the trainer and was replaced by rookie Albert Abreu.
The Yankees are in a fight for their playoff lives with 25 games left. Cole, the front runner for the American League Cy Young award, had good velocity. His fastball touched 100 miles per hour, but he was struggling with command.
Cole left having allowed three earned runs — including a solo shot by Blue Jays designated hitter Alejandro Kirk — on five hits and two walks. He struck out two.
The Yankees went into Tuesday night’s game having lost three straight and losing a grip on their playoff potential.
