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Gerrit Cole strong in spring debut, Cody Bellinger shows off power in Yankees' win over Blue Jays

Gerrit Cole was strong in his spring training debut and the Yankees used three home runs from their split-squad to get past the Blue Jays, 6-3, on Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Here are some takeaways...

-Cole's spring debut was everything the Yankees could have hoped for. The ace struck out two in the first inning, and struck out another in the second using his full mix of pitches. Some Jays hitters were shaking their heads, including Toronto catcher Tyler Heineman, who took a 76 mph knuckle curve over the heart of the plate that he clearly didn't want any part of. Once the pitch dropped in, Heineman could only shake his head and smile back at the right-hander.

The Yankees ace did get into some trouble in the third inning. Joey Loperfido took a changeup the opposite way into left field. Pablo Reyes started at left and appeared to have a bead on the ball, but lost it and the ball dropped in for a ground-rule double. Will Wagner would hit a double into left field with two outs to push across the first and only run Cole would allow.

Cole came back out for the fourth and struck out Orelvis Martinez on five pitches before his night was done.

Cole pitched 3.1 innings (46 pitches/33 strikes), allowed three hits, one run, and one hit by pitch and struck out five batters. He topped out at 96 mph.

With the potential loss of Luis Gil for the start of the season, the Yankees need Cole to be strong and stay healthy.

-Austin Wells made his second spring start Friday and batted leadoff for the first time, as manager Aaron Boone searches for an everyday leadoff hitter. Wells turned on a 1-0 fastball from youngster Jake Bloss and deposited the pitch 382 feet over the right field wall to give the Yankees an early lead.

Cody Bellinger followed a Paul Goldschmidt strikeout with a home run of his own. Off a 96 mph fastball on a 3-1 count from Bloss, Bellinger pulled the pitch over the right-center field wall. Bellinger would double a cutter off the center field wall in the third inning for his second extra-base hit of the game.

Wells finished 1-for-2 while Bellinger went 2-for-3 with the home run and double. Goldschmidt went hitless in his three at-bats, striking out twice.

-The Yankees opened things up in the sixth, all with two outs. Spencer Jones fought off an inside pitch to get a single and stole second base. Oswald Peraza drove him in with a single and Andrew Velazquez's double put runners on second and third for Alex Jackson, who homered earlier in the game. Friday's starting DH drove a double into the left-field corner to plate pair and put the Yankees up 6-1.

Jones finished 1-for-3 with a stolen base, a run scored and a strikeout. Jackson, not known for his bat, finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Jackson is competing for the backup catcher job and had a better day than J.C. Escarra who took over for Wells early in Friday's game. Escarra finished 0-for-1 with a walk.

-Oswaldo Cabrera and Peraza were both in the starting lineup, and are both fighting for a spot as the team's third baseman. Cabrera began at third base while Peraza started at shortstop.

Cabrera (1-for-3) was solid at the plate along with Peraza, who also finished 1-for-3. Peraza made a couple of great plays at short, one on a tough hop in the first inning and also recovered nicely when he bobbled a ball on the transfer when he went to his right in the hole to get a forceout at second base in the fifth.