Gerrit Cole to make first start since 2024, Brewers and Guardians make their impact known & the Pope gets a gift from the White Sox

It’s been a very long time since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. It was the last time that Gerrit Cole appeared in a Major League Baseball game. That all changes tonight, when the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner makes his season debut in the Bronx for the New York Yankees and hopes to regain the form that made him the ace of the staff. On this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss the significance behind Gerrit Cole’s return to the Yankees, including his search for redemption after his last appearance on the Yankee Stadium mound, how close he came to leaving the club and why he’ll slide perfectly into the rotation. With a big series against division rival the Tampa Bay Rays starting tonight and a need to get back to winning ways, the Yankees hope their ace will get them back on track. Later, Jake and Jordan talk about the Cleveland Guardians mopping the Detroit Tigers and how their different philosophy when it comes to roster construction is paying off so far in 2026. They then discuss the Milwaukee Brewers sweeping the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field to leapfrog them in the NL Central standings, as well as J.P. Crawford being willing to make a position switch so he can stay with the Seattle Mariners. The guys then make their picks for this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad & The Uggla. 1:18 - The Opener: Gerrit Cole returns 19:34 - Around The League: Guardians mop the Tigers 28:45 - Brewers overtake the Cubs 34:43 - We Need To Talk About: Crawford eyes change 42:35 - The Good 50:21 - The Bad 54:48 - The Uggla Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:🎧 Apple Podcasts🎧 Spotify🖥️ YouTube📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tvAnd check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_