Polanco’s HR in 8th ends no-hitter in Pirates defeat
ended in a hard ground ball back to Greinke.
Greinke’s strikeout of Gift Ngoepe in the sixth inning set a major league record. The Diamondbacks were the first team in league history to record at least 10 strikeouts in 10 consecutive home games. At the time, it hardly sent a ripple through the anxious audience.
The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, jumped ahead early with hard contact off Cole. Chris Owings doubled leading off in the second and scored on Brandon Drury’s single to center field. They added another in the third after David Peralta doubled, Paul Goldschmidt singled and Jake Lamb doubled. Cole struck out Owings and Drury to strand the runners at second and third.
Cole (1-4) settled into a groove. He set down 12 batters in a row before Jeff Mathis singled in the seventh. Cole completed the seventh and turned the game over the Pirates bullpen. Cole allowed seven hits and two runs, walking one and striking out five.
Earlier in the day, Hurdle said Cole has shown maturation this season. There’s the continued growth in game-planning, learning to sequence based on the strengths of his stuff each game. There’s also a certain “professionalism” about Cole, Hurdle said. It seems he has become more successful pushing aside things he can’t control — errors and an absent offense among them.
“We’ve had some challenges behind him, as we have for a couple different guys,” Hurdle said. “I think he’s found out what veteran, elite pitchers do. You just rise above. ‘I can’t help that. I’m not going to be able to throw it and catch it.’ I have a chance to pick somebody up. … I think I've seen a lot more of that this year because we have unfortunately done that to him a few times.”
The challenge Thursday was another night devoid of offense. The Pirates have scored a total of five runs with Cole on the mound in his past five starts. Entering the game, his 2.09 run support average was second-lowest in the majors behind the Kansas City Royals’ Ian Kennedy (1.26).