Gerrit Cole got his second postseason start in pinstripes Monday night and put together a solid outing.

The ace finished the game throwing 97 pitches through six innings and allowing six hits, two walks and three earned runs to go with eight strikeouts. With the offense putting four runs on the board before his final pitch and eventually winning the game, 9-3, Cole secured his second-straight winning decision to start these playoffs.

Despite all the good takeaways, Cole did have some issues on the mound, including location problems and facing Ji-Man Choi, who at this point is now a nemesis of his.

Choi took Cole yard yet again, hitting his fourth homer against the ace and bringing his totals against him to 10-for-19. Another homer by Randy Arozarena continued Cole's issues with allowing balls to get over the wall this season.

"A bit of a grind," Cole said when asked to evaluate his outing. "Some really good pitches, some poor pitches. ... We had to duck and dive a little bit and roll with the punches."

"We were able to stop them when it really counted."

Cole credited the Rays for getting him on a few pitches as well, noting that it's the postseason and everyone is fighting.

"They're locked in, we're locked in," Cole said. "They capitalized on a few mistakes certainly."

"I thought he was good, I thought he really grinded," Aaron Boone said after the game. "He had to work hard a couple of those innings and made some huge pitches."

What seemed like an early nominee for Cole's signature moment as a Yankee came in the bottom of the fifth and the Yankees up, 4-3.

After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Cole found himself with the bases loaded after two walks and a single. Cole then threw four pitches: a strike looking, a ball that was only called a ball because Kyle Higashioka got crossed up on the catch, a strike swinging and a final strike swinging that clocked in at 100.1 mph — Cole's fastest pitch of the season.

With that last swing, Cole let out a roar you could hear back in the Bronx and all but earned his pinstripes.

"It's fun," Cole said on postseason moments like that. "Big pitch, big moment, executed it perfectly. I'm glad because I really got myself into a bit of a mess there."

Boone was smart in taking Cole out after six innings and 97 pitches despite some maybe thinking the Yanks should've left him in. If the series reaches a fifth game, Cole will be fresh and ready to take over in what would be his biggest game as a Yankee to date.

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