Only seven Major League Baseball pitchers since 1913 have started a season 13-0; coincidentally, the most recent was Strasburg’s Nats teammate, Max Scherzer, who started 13-0 with the Tigers in 2013, the only other pitcher to do so in the past 30 years.
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Cole will start Saturday’s game against the Washington Nationals. Former Frontier League pitcher Tanner Roark (8-5, 3.01) will start for the Nationals.
Kyle Hendricks allowed just three hits over six strong innings while the Chicago Cubs’ bats contributed with a five-run sixth in a 6-0 victory over the Texas Rangers.
The Nationals have a solid lineup, led by Bryce Harper and the breakout performance from Wilson Ramos, but Washington doesn’t have the kind of depth to deal with a long-term injury to one of its key players.
“What can you say?”
“He’s given us everything we want”. He walked twice, singled and hit a grand slam.
One inning later, Stephen Drew and Danny Espinosa had back-to-back doubles to extend the lead to 2-0. Washington are 14-4 in their last 18 home games and the over is 6-2 in their last 8 Sunday games while the Nationals are 38-17 in their last 55 Sunday games.
The Pirates will get their ace back for Saturday’s matchup against the Washington Nationals, as Pittsburgh Tribune Pirates beat writer Rob Biertempfel is reporting that Gerrit Cole has been activated from the 15-day disabled list.
Strasburg (13-0), who gave up one run and three hits with six strikeouts in eight innings, plated the winning run in the four-run seventh on a unusual play. Hurdle said Cole “threw all his pitches and maintained his velocity” at Indianapolis. “If I made one quality pitch I followed it up with a subpar (pitch)”.
NOTES: The start of the game was delayed one hour and 11 minutes by rain, which created a scenic rainbow beyond the right-field foul pole at game time.
Liriano (5-9) lasted into the seventh inning, allowing three runs and five hits.
Roark rarely faced trouble in recording his third win in four starts. Roark pitched seven or more innings for the fifth start in a row.
“(Third base coach Bob Henley) just said ‘Go ahead, ‘ so I went”.
Strasburg has won 16 consecutive decisions dating to September, a franchise record for starting pitchers.
Asdrubal Cabrera had three hits for the Mets, who opened the second half of the season by snapping a three-game losing streak. Drew, who was filling in for Daniel Murphy at second base (out with sore hamstring), went 3-for-4 with two doubles in this game. Washington took the first game of the series on Friday, 5-1. A mistake by first baseman David Freese on a sacrifice bunt attempt and the combination of a wild by pitch by reliever Neftali Feliz and throwing blunder by catcher Eric Fryer gave the Nationals the breaks they needed.
Cole entered Saturday’s start at 5-4 with a 2.77 ERA in 68 1/3 innings this season.
Andrew McCutchen’s second hit loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but reliever Blake Treinen finished the shutout.
Nationals: Murphy said he felt tightness in his hamstring after sliding into second base during the All-Star Game on Tuesday. Diagnosed with a strain and placed on the disabled list, Cole progressed from carefully monitored catch, using radar guns to gauge effort, to bullpen sessions and simulated games.
“I was in a division with the Pirates for a long time”, Baker said.
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“I was just trying not to strike out again”, Roark said.
