New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole started at Fenway Park in Boston for the first time since 2022 on Saturday. It wasn't a triumphant return.

The Boston Red Sox shelled Cole in a 4-1 Yankees loss. In 5.1 innings pitched, he struck out five batters but allowed four runs (four earned runs) and seven hits.

If it were just one bad outing, it wouldn't warrant sounding the alarms, but it isn't a one-off. It's another rough performance for six-time All-Star Cole, who hasn't looked like the same player since returning from Tommy John surgery in May. 

Gerrit Cole has struggled since returning from right elbow injury 

Cole went 1-0 in May, allowing no runs. His numbers tanked in June. Per StatMuse, he went 1-3 and logged a subpar 6.12 ERA in 25 innings pitched. That marks his highest ERA in a month (min. 25 innings pitched) since June 2017, when he was still playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That season, he finished with a career-worst 4.26 ERA in 203 innings pitched. Pittsburgh traded him to the Houston Astros the following offseason. 

No Yankee fans want to hear the 2023 American League Cy Young winner may be reverting to "Pirates Cole."

Cole doesn't think that's happening. He said his struggles on Saturday were tied to trouble with his command. 

"I just tried to free myself up to be honest," Cole said, via Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. "The command sometimes just isn't there, so I tried to be more aggressive and not care as much about where the pitch was going, or not really try to define the pitch too much by jamming into one area, and just, just attack. 

"I was encouraged by the way we finished. Unfortunately, it was too much to overcome today, which was disappointing."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone echoed Cole's sentiments about his aggression. But you know what's better than aggression? Not allowing runs, and Cole has been surrendering too many of those lately. Through his first four starts in June, he gave up 13 runs.

Now, the Yankees (48-34) remain in a great spot. Still, New York shouldn't ignore Cole's pitching issues. If they continue, they will become an even bigger problem for the World Series contender.