This Tuesday’s New York Yankees–Chicago White Sox clash at Rate Field was as eventful as they come. Friendly banter between teammates and an outburst toward the MLB umpires marked the Yankees’ 3-2 victory. Despite losing his cool as early as the second inning, the Yankees’ ace didn’t let it affect his performance.

“Gerrit Cole was yelling from the dugout after the umpire gave him a pitch clock violation,” the Talkin’ Yanks X handle captioned the post.

With the Yankees leading 3-0, Gerrit Cole took it upon himself to field the ball when Colson Montgomery popped up. Alongside Cole, the popup had catcher Austin Wells as well as 3B Amed Rosario try to make the catch. As Cole ultimately secured the ball, the pitch clock was already running while Wells was making it back to his position.

The Yankees tried to call a timeout, but home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz issued a pitch clock violation against Cole, resulting in an automatic ball. Though it did not affect Cole’s outing on Tuesday in any way, the frustrated ace was seen barking at Ortiz from the dugout once the inning ended.

The Yankees activated Cole on May 22, following his recovery from Tommy John surgery. On Tuesday, the ace looked to be back to his former self as he dominated the White Sox. During his twelfth start of the season, Cole threw six scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. He took the win for the Yankees, with his ERA dropping to 3.57. Currently, he is under a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees.

During the second-inning fiasco, the broadcast caught Cole yelling at Wells to “call time” with only a couple of seconds remaining on the pitch clock. He wanted to clock in one of the Yankees’ mound visits. However, according to the umpire, the Yankees were too late to call for a timeout. Manager Aaron Boone later told MLB.com that Wells’ approach was not assertive enough.

Ortiz’s decision prompted friction at home plate as Cole went to ask for an explanation from the umpire.

In the video, he can be heard asking, “You can’t take a visit with less than two seconds? Is that a rule?”

However, the situation did not escalate from there, as Cole went back to pitching. Once the inning ended, the RHP let his frustrations out by yelling at the umpire from the dugout.

“We tried to call a mound visit from two or three seconds. It wasn’t granted,” Cole told MLB.com post-game. “Ultimately, it was our mistake that we didn’t play with more pace there.”

Tuesday marked the second time in seven days that Cole faced pitch clock drama. During last week’s doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the pitch clock malfunctioned while Cole was getting ready to pitch. The pitcher broke his stance when the clock stopped. However, the umpires were not watching the clock but were instead focused on the pitcher. Cole received a balk. It was the same game when the umpire issued an automatic strike against Jose Caballero, citing a time violation.

On both days, it was not necessarily Cole’s fault for what happened, but he had to face the consequences. Meanwhile, let’s have a detailed look at Montgomery’s pop-out and the friendly banter that followed.

Gerrit Cole issues a “pass interference” to teammate

On Tuesday, Gerrit Cole retired the leadoff White Sox hitter, Colson Montgomery, in the second inning with a pop-out. However, it was a memorable one as Austin Wells and Amed Rosario also tried to make the catch while Cole called it.

The ace ultimately caught the ball, but not before Wells stepped on his foot. Furthermore, the incident became even more dramatic when Cole fumbled trying to nab the ball with his gloved hand before his other hand secured it. Once done, Cole jokingly issued a “pass interference” to Wells, like a football referee.

“It was a tough sky tonight, no doubt. I was just aggressive to the ball,” Cole told MLB.com. “I didn’t feel [third baseman Amed] Rosario on me, and I didn’t feel Wells on me until late. I figured I could make the play. I started to work back into the ball after I called it, and Austin stepped on my foot.”

Despite being issued a pitch clock violation, Cole did not face any difficulty retiring the rest of the batters. He quickly ended the inning by striking out Tristan Peters.

After securing two straight wins against the White Sox, the Yankees lost 6-5 on Wednesday. They would look to clinch the series on Thursday during the finale of the four-game set.