‘Fired up’ Gerrit Cole was ace in the hole Yankees needed in clincher

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gerrit Cole pitched like an ace again and now the Yankees are going back to the ALCS.

But he didn’t do it without a bit of drama, giving up a long Kyle Isbel fly ball to the fence in right field with two outs in the seventh that was just feet away from being a game-tying homer at Kauffman Stadium.

Juan Soto was able to haul it in to get out of the inning, and the Yankees went on to a 3-1 series-clinching win over Kansas City in Game 4 of the ALDS.

Aaron Boone admitted “my heart skipped a beat” on Isbel’s drive to the fence.

Cole let out a scream as he walked toward the dugout after it was over.

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“I was fired up,’’ Cole said.

He had reason to be.

Cole ended up allowing just one run on six hits — and no walks — while striking out four over seven innings.

Now, he and the Yankees are a step away from the World Series in a season that began with Cole on the injured list due to elbow inflammation that sidelined him in March.

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Cole hasn’t approached the consistent dominance he showed a year ago, when the 34-year-old ran away with the AL Cy Young Award, but he’s looking more like the leader of the rotation and the Yankees will need that to continue and he’ll take it.

“This is the best part of the year,’’ Cole said. “Last year, I was just trying to do right by the team and keep grinding. This is the ultimate goal.”

Cole was cruising through the first five-plus innings of Game 4, holding a three-run lead having not given up a run.

That’s when the benches briefly cleared after a collision at second base between Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia and shortstop Anthony Volpe, when Garcia was forced at second and took exception to a bit of a shot to the neck from Volpe.

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With no one on and two out, Cole allowed a single to right by Bobby Witt Jr. and a run-scoring double to Vinnie Pasquantino to make it a two-run game and bring the Kauffman Stadium crowd to life.

Worse, Salvador Perez came to the plate.

But Cole stiffened and got the catcher to pop out to second to end the inning and preserve the lead.

It was part of a strong bounce-back performance from Cole, who was hit hard throughout his Game 1 start, when he lasted just five-plus innings and was fortunate to allow four runs, three earned.

On Thursday, he retired the first six batters he faced and 12 of the first 13 as the Yankees gradually built a 3-0 lead.

“I’m just blessed to be here,’’ Cole said. “We’ve got to keep rolling.”

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