Yanks’ Cole strikes out 2 in hitless inning of spring debut

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Gerrit Cole struck out two and walked one over a hitless inning in his spring training debut for the New York Yankees against Pittsburgh on Monday night.

Cole’s first pitch to Adam Frazier was a 97 mph fastball. After Frazier popped out and Bryan Reynolds struck out, Cole Tucker drew a walk. The right-hander then fanned Josh Bell to finish up.

Cole signed a $324 million, nine-year contract as a free agent after going 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts last season for the AL champion Houston Astros. He has an overall career record of 94-52.