Gerrit Cole was back on the mound at Yankee Stadium for the first time this season and looked rather sharp outside of a rocky first inning.

The reigning AL Cy Young award winner – who was on a pitch count limit for his season debut -- threw 62 pitches over four-plus innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out five and walking one in a 7-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

But for Cole, it was a milestone night of sorts after his months-long rehab from sustaining nerve irritation in his right arm during spring training.

"It was nice [to be back]," Cole said. "It was a special game for me a little bit, just a long few months. A lot of emotions. I wasn’t too sure how I was going to feel out there but locating the ball calms nerves a little bit."

The Yankees' right-hander struggled out of the gate, though, allowing a leadoff double to Gunnar Henderson and a two-out RBI double to Ryan O’Hearn in the first inning that put the Bombers in a 1-0 hole.

Cole settled in afterward with a 1-2-3 second inning and then began to look like his vintage self -- striking out five of the next seven batters he faced in the third and fourth innings, reaching as high as 97 mph with his fastball.

"I felt pretty good," he said. ". ... I thought I held up well. Certainly a different level just demands a higher level of focus, execution. I felt I could definitely keep making pitches but [we're being] strategic in pitch count and in that regard we executed perfectly."

He started the fifth inning, but after allowing a leadoff single to Cedric Mullins, manager Aaron Boone decided to go to the bullpen and call it a night for Cole. Mullins would later score on a home run from Ramon Urias against Ron Marinaccio.

As Cole returned to the dugout he appeared frustrated and asking for one more, but he said that was more frustration toward letting Mullins beat him.

"Probably just a little frustration with the cat-and-mouse [game]," Cole explained. "Cedric got me again on the high fastball."

Cole is currently lined up to pitch next Tuesday against the Mets, and both Cole and Boone said he will remain on a pitch count, although neither specified what that may be.

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