Shaky Cole exits after two frames

PITTSBURGH — Gerrit Cole rejoined the Pirates’ rotation on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, but he did not return to form — at least not the form the Bucs were hoping to see.

Cole struggled through two long innings in his first start since Aug. 24, giving up five runs on four hits and a career-high-tying four walks while striking out three. He threw 55 pitches, 29 for strikes, and he couldn’t contain a young Phillies lineup loaded with left-handed hitters. Manager Clint Hurdle said before the game that Cole’s workload would be limited, but it was not immediately clear whether Cole exited early due to his unspecified pitch count or ineffectiveness.

Cole spent a little more than two weeks on the disabled list recovering from posterior elbow inflammation. As he worked his way back to the mound, Cole focused on repeating his delivery, the crux of his problems throughout this injury-plagued year. He has dealt with three …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com