New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone expects Gary Sanchez to be behind the plate for Gerrit Cole on Opening Day.
This clears up any uncertainty after Kyle Higashioka caught Cole during Sunday's 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Cole was excellent, striking out eight across five innings, while allowing one earned run.
"With Higgy being out there for a couple days and then coming out of the off-day, I wanted to play Gary back-to-back days, so it's just that," Boone said, according to SNY's Yankees Videos. "I would expect Gary to be behind there on Opening Day."
Sanchez has the superior bat, but Cole performed better last season with Higashioka behind the plate. The right-hander's strikeout percentage jumped from 31.9% to 34% with Higashioka, while his opponent's batting average lowered by 78 points.
Sanchez last caught for Cole on March 1, and the pitcher appears optimistic about working with him.
"I thought we worked well today, and so I was confident throwing anything we needed to," Cole said after his last start with Sanchez, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "He made some good blocks in the dirt too, so I thought we did a nice job together."
