It’s hard to say that things are business as usual in MLB, but Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole did the best he could during his first sim game start of summer camp on Tuesday night.

The Yankees’ ace was methodical and calculated, tossing five innings and only allowing three base runners – two walks and a solo homer to Miguel Andujar. Before walking off for the night, Cole hit his patented groove where hitters just couldn’t figure him out, sitting down the final nine he faced.

“I thought it was good. It was nice to get through five,” Cole said during a Zoom interview on Tuesday. “We were efficient. Bounced back from a couple of walks well and overall location was pretty good.

“Did hit the load really well, worked with Gary [Sanchez] well. Like I said, had all four [pitches] pretty much located pretty well tonight. Need to work on the fastball command a little bit, but good progression.”

Manager Aaron Boone couldn't help but to smile in his post-game presser when analyzing what he saw from Cole as well.

"I thought he threw the ball really well and I thought he finished well," Boone said. "That was the thing I thought was good to see. I thought stuff was really good from start to finish. In fact, in some ways, I felt like he got even a little sharper and in a good rhythm especially with his slider there later."

In a normal July at Yankee Stadium, Cole on the mound would have tons of fans sitting on the edge of their seats to watch him work. But of course, Cole won’t be seeing his new fanbase in the seats just yet. Instead, he has to deal with the strict coronavirus protocols like figuring out if he should be throwing a ball away after striking a hitter out. That situation arose during his start, as he looked toward the dugout for clarification.

“Yeah, we weren’t exactly sure if we were supposed to keep it or not and so we kinda made a joke about it, and it looks like I probably should’ve kept it,” Cole said.

But Cole’s focus, an elite area of his overall game, never faltered.

“This is the first kind of real most game-like scenario I’ve been put in with it,” Cole said, referencing no fans in the stands. “It’s certainly different but everything’s different. I didn’t have trouble focusing tonight.

“I just try to fall into that rhythm as best I could and try to practice it early in the clubhouse, too, dealing with the new dynamic here and new digs. Just try to practice as much as I can to get as comfortable as I can.”

Cole wasn’t able to talk to his teammates that he faced, but he is hoping to do so on Wednesday if he can get the chance. The beauty of facing your own team before the season is to hear what they were seeing and learning from that. But, with exception to a few intersquad games next week for the Yankees, this is the only competition Cole will see before having to face another league-best starter in Max Scherzer.

So, for him, this first sim start -- and the ones that follow – will be treated like a regular game day.

“In terms of approaching the games, it’s easy. There was two lineups and I was trying to win.”

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