Cole will start Game 2 of the ALDS on Saturday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Cole would be the Game 1 starter in any other year after finishing the year with a 2.50 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and a record-high (among qualified starters) 39.9 percent strikeout rate. On the Astros, however, he'll follow fellow Cy Young contender Justin Verlander, who gets the nod for Game 1.