Maybe this is one way to put Gerrit Cole in perspective.
In his career, Nolan Ryan, the greatest strikeout pitcher of all time, had eight games in his career where he struck out at least 10 batters and issued no walks. Cole has five such games ... in 2021.
Cole's 1-0 victory Wednesday night in Tampa Bay was a masterpiece for any era: Eight innings, four hits, no runs, no walks, 12 strikeouts, all in a pressure-packed game that was 0-0 until the seventh inning, in a ballpark that hasn't been kind to the New York Yankees in recent seasons, against a team that has owned the Yankees the past two years, all while a COVID outbreak hit seven members of New York's coaching and support staff loomed over the team.