Cole pitches a gem, finally gets 15th win and monkey off his back
Way back on June 13, barely 2 1/2 months into the season, Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole became the first pitcher to reach 10 wins. He was on a meteoric pace.
It then took him nearly just as long to notch half as many wins. On his sixth try Thursday night to reach No. 15, Cole finally got it, pitching a gem in Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.
Cole went 7.1 innings, allowing one earned run on five hits. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Sixty-three of Cole's 95 pitches were strikes. One borderline pitch that wasn't called a strike in the third inning got Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli ejected for arguing the call.
It was Cole's first win since July 26. It's not like Cole has pitched horribly despite having been 0-3 in August. He still had a respectable ERA of 3.60.
"I feel like we're playing well. I feel strong, executing pitches," Cole told reporters. "We're playing good ball together as a unit. Hopefully we can keep moving forward."
Likewise, Cole hopes it doesn't take another six starts to notch his 16th victory.
(h/t MLB.com)
