Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has a history with the Blue Jays, who may be catching up on their tantalizing arsenal.

When Gerrit Cole takes the mound for the New York Yankees on Wednesday, it will mark the most significant start for the Cy Young Award nominee against the Blue Jays in a nine-year career.

The 31-year-old right-hander has pitched against Toronto eight times. But when he faces José Berríos on the second night of a three-game series with playoff implications, it will be Cole’s first start at the Rogers Center.

“It’s always challenging, but a lot of fun facing one of the best in the game,” Blue Jay Cavan Biggio said before Game 1 of the series Tuesday night, after the super-utility infielder was reinstated from the roster. injured.

Cole has had the advantage over the Blue Jays statistically throughout his career, including stops with the Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates. And the game will likely be the last chance to strengthen his case for the AL Cy Young, a two-way race with the Jays’ Robbie Ray, scheduled to begin the series finale on Thursday.

From 2013 to 2020, Cole faced the Blue Jays four times: once with the Pirates in 2014, once with the Astros in 2019, and twice with the Yankees last September. He’s doubled that total since then, giving Blue Jays hitters a good glimpse of what they might expect to see. In general, however, you have mastered:

The Blue Jays’ averages against him this year are nearly identical (.202 / .250 / .357), but the difference has been home runs.

After just two long balls from Cole before this year, the Jays’ hitters have hit four in 2021, and all of them have either tied the game or put them in the lead. Cole homered to Alejandro Kirk in his last start against the Blue Jays, which he left after 3 2/3 innings with a hamstring injury.

His ERA against the Blue Jays this season is roughly the same as his career high in head-to-head matches (2.74), but strikeouts are low (8.6 of nine).

Biggio said it’s difficult to plan the game for a guy like Cole, who can do so many things on the mound with an arsenal of positive pitches: fastball, slider, curveball, switch.

“My way of thinking outside of him is … putting him in the zone and being ready for that warm-up, and trying to react to whatever else he shows me,” Biggio said.

Jays hitting coach Guillermo Martinez added that facing Cole four times this season has given hitters a good idea of ​​what to expect Wednesday.

“If it is in the area, we will be ready to attack,” Martinez said. “We are an aggressive team. We have a lot of speed and bat power in our lineup, and one mistake can be a game changer for our guys. “