Cole laments Game 5 loss: 'As bad as it gets'

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole described the disappointment of coming up short in Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers as being "as bad as it gets."

"It's the worst feeling you can have, especially because you have to keep willing yourself to believe and to give yourself a chance," Cole said postgame, according to SNY. "You just keep pushing and keep pushing, and ultimately, we came up short. It's just brutal."

Cole pitched into the seventh inning but was charged with five unearned runs after a disastrous top of the fifth.

The 34-year-old didn't run to first base on a ground ball, allowing Mookie Betts to reach and a run to score before the Dodgers added four more runs to tie the game at five.

"I took a bad angle to the ball," Cole said. "I wasn't sure off the bat how hard he hit it. I took a direct angle to it as if to cut it off because I just didn't know how hard he hit. By the time the ball got by me, I was not in a position to cover first. Neither of us were."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was also emotional following the end of his team's season.

"This is a very difficult moment for us," Boone said, according to SNY. "As I said to the guys, obviously, it stings now. This is gonna sting forever. There were just a lot of heartfelt messages to each other."

Boone and the Yankees won the franchise's first American League pennant since 2009 before losing to the Dodgers.

"I'm heartbroken," Boone said. "It doesn't take away my pride in what that room means to me and what that group forged this year."

Boone is reportedly expected to return as New York's manager next season.

Meanwhile, Cole can opt out of the four years and $144 million remaining on the nine-year contract he signed in 2019. However, the Yankees can void that opt out if they add another year to his contract for an additional $36 million.