Gerrit Cole showed minimal rust in his first start back from Tommy John surgery.

His follow-up performance on Wednesday didn’t seem to feature any.

In fact, Cole’s pitch count was the only indication that he is still easing his way back from major elbow reconstruction surgery. The Yankees’ ace was limited to 79 pitches in the team’s series-sweeping, 7-0 win over the Royals, but he certainly made the most of them.

Even with his restrictions, an efficient Cole — who threw 72 pitches over six scoreless innings in his season debut on May 22 — had no trouble pitching into the seventh inning. With 6 2/3 innings totaled, he did not permit a run once again.

Cole didn’t allow much contact either, holding Kansas City to four hits while fanning 10 batters. The right-hander, who missed the entire 2025 season, hadn’t had a double-digit strikeout game since Aug. 10, 2024.

Better yet, Cole didn’t walk any Royals after issuing three free passes in his first start. That’s a particularly encouraging part of Cole’s stat line, as command is often what eludes Tommy John patients the most after they return.

Stuff-wise, Cole looked sharp once again. His fastball maxed out at 98.4 mph, and he totaled 15 whiffs with a six-pitch mix. The Cy Young winner’s slider led the way with six whiffs.

The Royals did come close to scoring off Cole in the third inning, as Michael Massey doubled before racing home on a two-out single to right from Maikel Garcia. However, Aaron Judge fired a pinpointed rocket to the plate, where Austin Wells applied a bang-bang tag on a sliding Massey just in time.

Judge also plated a run with a sac fly in the fourth frame. An RBI triple from Ben Rice got the Yankees their first run earlier in the inning.

The Yankees padded their lead in the seventh inning when Paul Goldschmidt worked a walk with the bases loaded. Rice followed with a two-run single, while Ryan McMahon added a two-run home run in the eighth inning.

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