7 years agoHouston Astros starter Gerrit Cole will take the ball Tuesday night as the team opens up an interleague series against the Giants. The former Pittsburgh Pirate is 4-1 lifetime against the Giants in six career starts with a 3.18 ERA. He faced them twice last season, getting burned for seven runs in 5 1/3 innings on June 30, but he bounced back with six innings of winning baseball in a 10-3 Pirates victory on July 24. Cole has been a completely different pitcher for the Astros to this point in the season. He has been absolutely dynamite with 93 strikeouts through only 61 2/3 innings with a sparkling 1.75 ERA and 0.79 WHIP. After a few down seasons, Cole has reverted back to his All-Star form of 2015 and seemingly has been competing with teammate Justin Verlander for who can outmaster the other. The Giants are a middle-of-the-road offense, at best, and Cole is a must-start in all formats for Tuesday's slate of games.--Joey C - RotoBaller
Source: Houston Astros