Gerrit Cole's tenure as the New York Yankees ace has still been a success. Heading into Saturday's ALDS game against the Kansas City Royals, Cole has amassed a 4-2 record with a 3.40 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 7 postseason appearances for New York.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole did not have his best stuff Saturday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals. Right off the bat in the first inning, it was clear the Royals were seeing Cole's pitches well.

The surest sign that Cole didn’t have good stuff was that manager Aaron Boone had Clay Holmes — the former struggling closer — warming up in the bullpen with two outs and two on in the fourth, after Melendez’s homer.