Gerrit Cole looking for first home win with Rockies in his way
Gerrit Cole finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting last season pitching most of the season as a 24-year-old. That success at a young age made the Pittsburgh Pirates’ right-hander a popular preseason pick to contend for the award again this season.
Cole hasn’t done anything to take himself out of the running, but he hasn’t really pitched at a level to truly be in the mix yet either. He’ll need to reach another level or two to even be considered in the same breath with Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta and Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Clayton Kershaw, both of whom have been phenomenal again so far this year. 
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He’ll make his third start of the season tonight at PNC Park against the Colorado Rockies trying to earn his first win at home in 2016. You can see how he does by streaming the game for free right here on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. MLB’s local blackout rules apply.
Cole won 19 games last season, including nine in his home ballpark where he had a higher ERA than he did on the road and where opponents had a higher batting average against him as well.
Those numbers have been worse in his first two home starts this season. He has lost both of his starts at home this season with a 5.91 ERA. He allowed six runs and four walks in just 42/3 innings in his previous home start earlier this month against the Cubs.
Opponents are hitting .256/.348/.333 against him at home as compared to .228/.273/.325 in his road starts, which includes a win in a six-inning outing over the Rockies at Coors Field last month.
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Colorado hasn’t won a series in Pittsburgh since 2011. The Rockies are in the midst of the 10-game road trip in the east. Such trips have been notoriously hard on the Rockies over the years as the team is always dealing with the adjustments of playing the game on the road versus the thin air at home.
Cole and the Pirates should feel good about their chances going into this one, though Colorado is one of the better slugging teams in baseball with two of the top-four home run hitters in the NL in the lineup in third baseman Nolan Arenado and rookie shortstop Trevor Story.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
