"I feel good, strong, healthy," Cole said, assessing his All-Star worthy half-season. "I feel like I've gotten better every time out, and we've brought consistent energy out on the field, the guys have played really, really well behind us -- and that's reflected in the record."
As long as we're talking record paces for Pirates pitchers -- and also reflected in Cole's record -- there's Mark Melancon, who Friday night converted his 27th consecutive save opportunity. That broke Joel Hanrahan's 2011 single-season club record. Overall, it was Melancon's Major League-leading 29th save; that matched Jason Grilli's 2013 pre-All-Star club record.