DENVER — Friday begins the biggest three-game stretch of right-hander Gerrit Cole’s still-young major league career. After opposing Chicago Cubs left-hander Jon Lester today, Cole is in line to pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals and in the Pirates’ first postseason game.
“It’s just another game we’ve got to take care of,” Cole said Wednesday night after the Pirates clinched a third consecutive playoff berth. “I’m not trying to put any extra expectations on anything.”
Cole, 17-8 with a 2.64 ERA this season, is the first Pirates pitcher with 17 wins since John Smiley in 1992.