Pirates Top Prospect Gerrit Cole Rocked, Triple-A Indianapolis Falls 14-13

was rocked tonight for Triple-A Indianapolis

In his Triple-A debut, Gerrit Cole was shaken, but not rattled enough that he didn’t get a victory. That was not the case last night.

Cole pitched in the Indianapolis Indians victory in their regular season home finale Saturday at Victory Field. The Pirates top prospect as ranked by Baseball America, gave up three singles and three runs in the first inning that night.

But the big right hander settled in after that to shut down Toledo before he left in the sixth inning with seven strike outs and just one walk.

The hard throwing Cole started slow when we saw him in Double-A Altoona, and as the game progressed, so did his velocity. In the crucial game two of the Indianapolis Indians Game Two of the International League playoffs, Cole couldn’t get seven outs in a big playoff game.

It certainly was disappointing as have been each of Cole’s starts when the heat is turned up a bit.

The big right hander allowed nine hits. He faced two batters in the third inning. When it was all said and done, Cole was charged with eight runs and tallied one strikeout. Looking for a silver lining? He didn’t walk any Charlotte batters and the Indians gave a big fight, rallying back to fall 14-13.

Chase d’Arnaud drove in five runs, but struckout in the bottom of the ninth on a full count to end the game.

Indians website