Shaky Cole exits after two frames in return

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 he and the Bucs were hoping to see. Now, the question becomes whether Cole will take the mound again this season.

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 in the 6-2 loss to Philadelphia. He threw 55 pitches, 29 for strikes, and he couldn’t contain a young Phillies lineup loaded with left-handed hitters.

The Pirates’ unquestioned ace a year ago, Cole looked Monday night like the pitcher who struggled badly in August before going on the disabled list. And after the game, he was again left without answers to explain his uncharacteristically poor performance.

“It was just a bad night,” Cole said. “I put us in a huge hole early. That’s not what we needed.”

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, he focused on repeating his delivery, the crux of his problems throughout this injury-plagued year. He has dealt with three separate maladies since …

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