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Gerrit Cole’s Best MLB Start is Wasted By the Pirates in a 1-0 Loss to the Cubs

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PITTSBURGH — By at least one metric, Garret Cole had a career night Tuesday at PNC Park.

The game score for Cole’s seven-inning, two-hit outing was 83, tying for the second best in his career with. It’s been a trying year for Cole, who dealt with repeated injuries and periods of ineffectiveness. But not only does Cole appear to be back, he might be better than ever.

That was the opinion of the two managers that watched him mow down eight Cubs on just 78 pitches and give up just one, unearned run a 1-0 defeat.

“Cole could not have pitched better himself,” Cubs skipper Joe Maddon said. “You’ve got to give that guy credit. I know he’s good and I’ve always said that, but I’ve not seen him that good. We had to pitch that well tonight to beat him. He was outstanding, both pitchers were.”

“It may have been one of the best-pitched games he’s had,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “He had every pitch working. He was athletic on the mound. There was finish, there was power, there was spin. All four pitches worked.”

Cole’s outing was impressive for many reasons. He threw 22 of 24 first-pitch strikes, which enable him to pitch ahead in the count to nearly every batter he faced. His power was solid throughout, averaging over 96 mph with his fastball and repeatedly hitting 98. He worked efficiently, taking just 78 pitches to get through seven innings.

Basically, it was Cole at his best. But that doesn’t mean he was satisfied.

“It was probably the sharpest I’ve been this year,” he said. “There were some areas for improvement, some times where we lost count leverage, but just stick with the process and I’ll just keep trying to get better and refine those things.”

HANSON FAILS TO CAPITALIZE

To say that Alen Hanson hasn’t gotten many opportunities with the Pirates at the major-league level might be putting it mildly.

Coming into Tuesday, he had the fewest plate appearances (11) and the fewest innings played in the field (13) of any Pirates’ position player.

He was given an opportunity to start at second base on Tuesday, but failed to take advantage of that opportunity. In the field, Hanson made a critical error in the second inning, throwing a ball away on a routine ground ball. At the plate, he went 0 for 3, including a strikeout with the tying run on third base and one out in the seventh inning.

“The play wasn’t a difficult play,” Hanson said of his error. “What went wrong was that I became a little too confident. I noticed that the runner wasn’t running a 100 percent. I just relaxed a little and tried to make the play. When I noticed that he was almost there, I released the ball and just threw the ball away.”

Hanson’s tough night might be something he’s going to have to deal with for a while, given the length of time he’s had between starts thus far.

“Honestly, I try not to dwell too much on a mistake or an error, things like that, because obviously we know if you let it start draining you, you lose yourself within the game,” Hanson said. “What I tried to do was just flush it. Obviously, I was able just balance myself throughout the rest of the game, just come back, keep working harder and make sure that I try not to make any errors.”

BANGED UP BUCS

What was supposed to be a maintenance day for third baseman David Freese turned into something more, as Hurdle said after the game that Freese was not available due to right hamstring soreness.

Hurdle said Freese injured himself on Monday night, meaning that the Pirates either expected him to be available for the game or intentionally played with a three-man bench after recalling right-handed relief pitcher Johnny Barbato.

Adam Frazier said that his hamstring issue is not something he’s expecting to linger and he is shooting to return to action as soon as he is eligible, which will be on May 3.

With the bench so short and the bullpen relatively rested by Cole’s long outing, it’s probably safe to expect another roster move on Wednesday.

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