Pirates ace Gerrit Cole was solid in his start against the Royals on Tuesday. The right-hander allowed three runs--two earned--on five hits over 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter, but the Pirates were unable to back him in the 3-1 loss.
Cole, who drops to 13-4, was let down by the defense behind him in this one, as a pair of errors led to a three-run inning in the eighth. Prior to that, Cole had been sharp, keeping a good Royals offense in check.
The 2015 All-Star still sports a very fine 2.31 ERA