Expectations were understandably high for Gerrit Cole entering the 2106 campaign, coming off a 2015 season in which he was every bit the Pirates‘ ace, nearly becoming the club’s first hurler to win 20 games in a quarter century. But when the right-hander’s loss total through the month of April (3) reached almost half of the previous year (8), it started to beg the question if Cole was in for a regression this year or if he was simply getting off to a slower than expected start.
Through his first six appearances Cole failed to last longer than the sixth inning.