New pitcher Gerrit Cole is making a smooth transition to the starting rotation.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Spring training is a safe time for pitchers to work through damage. They can experiment. They can get used to the feeling of men on base. They can learn lessons now that would be harder when the games matter.
Starter Gerrit Cole breezed out of trouble and reliever Tony Sipp succumbed to it in a game against the Marlins at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Wednesday.
Cole, acquired from Pittsburgh in a January trade, completed 32⁄3 innings. After a leadoff double down the line that would lead to the Marlins loading the bases, Cole stranded the runners by striking out the side.
“Obviously we don’t have a double play yet, so we’re looking for a strikeout,” Cole said of his mentality after the double. “Then we executed what we really wanted to execute, just picking around the zone.”
“I made some quality pitches and got rewarded for it,” he added.
Cole also got familiarized with the new mound visit rules, limiting teams to six and one per extra inning, that baseball will implement this season. Starlin Castro lined a ball that knocked off Cole’s glove and loaded the bases. Catcher Brian McCann used a visit to change the sign sequence with Cole. He has started to jell more with McCann.
“Getting really good feedback from him helps me out and gives me more conviction,” Cole said. “We really try to hammer out those minute things so that when April comes around, you can flow and get out of big situations.” Sipp had allowed one hit and no runs in three innings. On Wednesday, he surrendered four runs, four hits and one walk in two-thirds of an inning.
First round of cuts leaves roster at 47
The Astros sent 10 players to minor league camp in the first round of cuts Wednesday. The cuts included: IF Randy Cesar, RHP Jacob Dorris, RHP Riley Ferrell ,OF Drew Ferguson, OF Alejandro Garcia, LHP Cionel Perez ,C Jamie Ritchie, OF Myles Straw ,IF Nick Tanielu and LHP Framber Valdez.
The Astros signed Perez in December 2016 for $2 million after he had not pitched professionally since defecting from Cuba in 2014. The Astros added him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Perez, who turns 22 in April, had a 4.13 ERA in 93 minor league innings last year.
The Astros have 47 players in major league camp.