Ex-MLB pitcher accuses Yankees’ Gerrit Cole for hitting minor leaguer: ‘No reason’

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s rehab outing took a controversial turn when a fastball rode inside and drilled the very hitter who had taken him deep earlier.

It didn’t take long for former MLB pitcher Seth McClung to notice and quickly call Cole out on social media.

“This is what being hit intentionally looks like. I have no context to what happened, I don’t need it,” McClung said in an X/Twitter post. “Honestly there’s no reason a big leaguer (rehab) needs to hit a minor leaguer.

Cole had given up just one run at this point in the game — a solo home run by Caleb Bonemer, the same batter he just plunked.

Whether the hit-by-pitch was on purpose or not wasn’t investigated, but McClung, a former pitcher with more than 1,250 innings of professional experience, was not convinced it was accidental.

Cole has struggled through four rehab starts returning from Tommy John surgery. He’s allowed 13 runs (12 earned) over 18 2/3 innings for a 5.79 ERA with 14 strikeouts.

The issue he’s struggled to contain the most is limiting home runs. While he’s pitching to a 1.02 WHIP, he’s allowed just 19 baserunners (18 hits and one walk) and six home runs.

Here’s a clean, publication-ready option you can drop into a Yankees-centric story or sidebar:

Cole’s tenure with the Yankees has largely lived up to the expectations that followed his franchise-record nine-year, $324 million signing ahead of the 2020 season.

For Wednesday night’s contest between the Yankees and the Rangers, the over/under is currently listed at 8.5 runs on BetMGM. Our in-depth