Cole allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four over 4.2 innings Wednesday against the Mets.
Cole was still hitting the upper 90s near the end of his 70-pitch outing. "His interest is getting up and down, hot and cold four times today," manager AJ Hinch told Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle before the game. "In a perfect world, when you talk about four innings, you hope for 60, 65 -- no more than 70 pitches." According to Hinch's vision, Cole is right on schedule. He'll have two more outings to ramp up to 90 pitches. The right-hander has a 1.69 ERA over four Grapefruit League starts and will start Houston's second game of the season.