Frustration hits in loss for Cole
Kang homers again, but ace right-hander stumbles on the road
CINCINNATI — As good as Gerrit Cole has pitched this season, the division rival Cincinnati Reds have given him trouble. His issues with the Reds continued Saturday when the Pirates lost, 4-3, at Great American Ball Park.
Cole (14-5) allowed three runs, two earned, in five innings. In four starts against the Reds this season, Cole is 0-3 with a 5.95 ERA and has not pitched more than five innings. He has allowed 14 runs, 13 earned, and 28 hits in 19⅔ innings. In his 17 other starts, he has a 1.68 ERA.
“I'm very frustrated,” Cole said. “They’ve gotten me every time.”
But Saturday, his defense did not give him much help. Andrew McCutchen played a single into a triple. Pedro Alvarez misplayed a grounder that put runners on first and second, and one scored. Chris Stewart’s passed ball moved a runner into scoring position and the runner eventually scored.
Jung Ho Kang hit a solo home run in the fourth and continued his exceptional production at the plate into August. Kang hit .379 in July with a .443 on-base percentage, and his 13 extra-base hits were tied for third in the league in the month. He now has a hit in 11 of his past 13 games.
Reds starter Raisel Iglesias (2-3)
Jung Ho Kang made it 11 with a solo home run in the fourth inning Saturday in Cincinnati before the Reds regained the lead.
allowed two runs in 6⅔ innings. The Pirates scored a run against him in the seventh and chased him from the game, but could not tie the score. The Pirates had never faced Iglesias, a rookie who pitches with a low three-quarters delivery.
“We knew that from an arm-slot perspective, it was going to take an at-bat or so to try to figure out what he’s going to do, what his sinker, what his changeup, what his slider look like,” said Neil Walker, who went 2 for 4 with two runs. “That’s kind of the way it went. We didn't get much going until the third time through the order and by that time it was a little too late to really add on to him.”
The Pirates scored a run on three hits against Reds closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. They loaded the bases, but Starling Marte struck out swinging to end the game.
“[Saturday] was one of those nights where he seemed to be missing a little bit with his fastball and he had to go to some other pitches,” said Walker, whose one-out single started the rally.
In the second, Marlon Byrd hit a line drive to center field that McCutchen considered diving for. He decided against diving, but didn’t get in front of the ball, and it rolled to the wall for a triple. Eugenio Suarez’s sacrifice fly scored a run.
Byrd got the Reds going again in the fourth with a one-out single. Brayan Pena hit a hard grounder to Alvarez at first, but Alvarez couldn’t handle it and it trickled into shallow right field. The play was ruled a single.
“We had a ball hit to us in the fourth inning, if we handled better, I don’t know where that goes,” manager Clint Hurdle said.
Suarez hit a double into the left-field corner, scoring a run.
“Two mistakes to Suarez,” Cole said. “Didn’t get the fastball in enough on the sac fly. That’s an opportunity to shut down right there. Left the breaking ball over the plate too much to him again for the double.”
Brandon Phillips started the Reds fifth with a single. After a 10-pitch at-bat, Cole struck out Joey Votto. In Todd Frazier’s at-bat, which also ended in a strikeout, a passed ball put Phillips on second. Jay Bruce doubled to the wall in left-center field, sending home Phillips, and the Reds led, 3-1.
“Tried to go in,” Cole said of the at-bat against Bruce, “and just completely missed.”
In the dugout after the inning, Cole kicked over a water cooler, getting Kang wet in the process. Realizing what he did, he handed Kang a towel.
Asked if he could have pitched another inning, Cole, who needed 98 pitches to complete five, said, “Yeah, but I think that’s not my decision. I think the manager had an idea of how he wanted the rest of the game to play out.”