Gerrit Cole was on a cruise. The Yankees hitters had come to life. After four innings the score was 5-0 and the Dodgers had no hits.

The World Series seemed destined for Friday night in Los Angeles.

Then it all came crashing down for the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner. Defense played a big role, including his own failure to cover first base, but Cole also couldn't shut down Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez at a big point.

While he gave the Yankees a lead with two outs in the seventh inning, Cole secured a five-run lead in a season-ending 7-6 loss to the Dodgers at the Stadium on Wednesday night.

“This is as bad as it gets,” Cole said. “It's the worst feeling you can have. … It’s just brutal.”

In his biggest start in the pinstripes, Cole turned in his second-longest outing of the postseason, going 6 ²/₃ innings without allowing an earned run, striking out six and walking four.

He retired six of the last seven Dodgers he faced after striking out Freeman with two outs in the seventh.

But the Yankees needed Cole to pitch like an ace to send this World Series back to Los Angeles. Ultimately, he couldn't avert the disastrous fifth inning, due in part to his own error.

While errors by Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe on consecutive plays allowed the Dodgers to load the bases with no outs, Cole was one point away from getting out of the jam after striking out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani.

However, Cole failed to cover first base on a Mookie Betts roll to Anthony Rizzo, allowing the Dodgers' first run to score.

Cole later said that he misjudged the ball's spin, thinking he could catch it, and took a bad angle.

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“I just didn't know how hard he hit, and when the ball got past me I wasn't able to cover him first,” he said. “None of us relied on the spin of the baseball and (Rizzo) having to secure it. Just a bad read from the start.”

Cole failed to beat Freeman or Hernandez and allowed two hits to both, allowing the Dodgers to tie the score at 5-5.

Freeman hit a 99 mph fastball that caught too much off the plate and sent it flying to center field for two runs.

Hernandez smoked a slider so Cole didn't get far enough away, allowing two more runs.

“I gave it everything I had,” he said.

To Cole's credit, he responded to the five-run fifth by stopping the Dodgers from there.

It was there that Cole found his best, striking out six straight runs after a walk against Max Muncy.

He threw 108 throws, his most in a game all year. Because of the high number of pitches, he didn't tire too late. He unloaded the tank in what would almost certainly be his swansong on the mound in 2024 — even if the Yanks had extended the streak.

“I just thought he controlled the moment and the night very well,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously he was put in a tough situation in the fifth inning and handled it so well. I don't know how many throws he had to throw to get out of there. I know it was a lot. And then to be able to go back out there and give us another good inning in the sixth inning and walk a couple more batters in the seventh, I thought he was brilliant.”

It's been a strange year for Cole.

Due to elbow problems, he didn't make his first appearance until June 19th.

He was up and down on the mound, posting a 3.41 ERA while his workload was closely monitored.

His first start in the playoffs was shaky, a four-run effort over five innings against the Royals.

But in his last four appearances, he held opponents at bay with four earned runs over 24 innings.

Still there was the fifth inning. The Freeman and Hernandez bats.

Cole couldn't maintain the five-run lead. The Yankees are going home.