How Yankees’ little-known pitcher saved their butts

A.J. Cole came out of nowhere to rescue the Yankees as they went on to beat the A’s, 7-6, with an 11th-inning walk-off on Saturday night.

NEW YORK — Neil Walker didn’t think what he had done was that big of a deal.

Walker had just smacked a walk-off single in the 11th inning to push the Yankees over the A’s, 7-6, at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

Whatever, right?

Well, compared to what A.J. Cole had just done, Walker wasn’t about to take all the credit.

“It’s so impressive,” Walker said. “It’s not easy to come out there and be sharp late in the game. Oakland has a good offensive club. What he did today was what I thought was more impressive than a walk-off win.”

Cole kept the A’s scoreless in the 10th and 11th innings, setting the table for Walker to steal the spotlight.

“I gave it everything I had because I know they’re doing the same,” Cole said of his teammates.

A’s coach wanted Boone’s job

He came in after Aroldis Chapman had a wild ninth inning, walking the bases loaded and throwing mostly 96 mph — far lower than his usual 100 mph heat. Boone later said Chapman’s problem was a broken nail.

The Yankees needed stability. They got it from Cole, who hadn’t pitched since April 28.

Cole walked the first two hitters he faced, clearly rusty. He settled down to strike out four total.

“That’s a tough spot we put him in,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Like you said, he hasn’t been out there since Anaheim. So, to go out and walk the first two batters, it’s almost understandable. There just hasn’t been those spots for him. To be able to not flinch, stay poised, make pitches, went through a tough part of their lineup to really battle out of trouble and settled in and gave us a couple really good innings.

The Yankees got Cole, usually a starting pitcher, from the Nationals on April 24. Baseball America had ranked the right-hander No. 91 on its top prospects list before the 2015 season. MLB.com had him ranked No. 52 at the same time.

“It’s a great effort by him, really proud of him, especially considering he just hasn’t had the work to have a chance to even be sharp. It was a big effort,” Boone said.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.