Cole avoided serious injury when a line drive off the bat of Jordan Zimmermann nicked his forehead in the sixth inning of Thursday's contest. "I hit the deck pretty hard," Cole told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Luckily, I was able to get out of the way. It didn't get me that good."
The liner ricocheted off Cole and was fielded by Andrew McCutchen in center field. It's still possible concussion symptoms appear in the next day or two, so he's not necessarily out of the woods yet. The righty also slipped on his follow-through in the second inning but avoided a possible ankle injury. He'll face the Padres in San Diego in his next start.