Cole Train Derailed by Toledo in 9-4 Rout
INDIANAPOLIS -- Pirates ace Gerrit Cole touched high 90s on the radar gun during his second rehab start with the Indianapolis Indians (59-60), but the former No. 1 overall draft pick was tagged for five runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 9-4 rout by the Toledo Mud Hens (59-60) on Tuesday night at Victory Field.
Eight days removed from whiffing seven in five shutout frames at Rochester, Cole saw his 24-inning scoreless streak snapped in the opening frame on an RBI double from veteran Mike Hessman.
The rehabbing righty scattered three hits while blanking Toledo over the next three innings until four consecutive extra-base hits brought home four and chased Cole in the top of the fifth. Hessman knocked his second of two RBI doubles, James McCann lifted a three-run homer and Ben Guez capped the thumping with a triple.
Brent Morel homered in the sixth to bring home a pair of back-to-back singles from Jose Tabata and Andrew Lambo and cut the deficit to 6-3.
Andy Oliver worked a scoreless ninth, his 30th appearance without an earned run of 39 total games, before Matt Hague plated Tabata with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the frame for his team-high 62nd RBI.