The Houston Astros took a commanding 2-0 lead in the ALDS over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, and Gerrit Cole is a big reason why. The Cy Young candidate struck out the entire Rays lineup, five of them multiple times, and that wasn’t even the most impressive part of his game.
Cole had 15 strikeouts through 7 2/3 innings pitched. That’s the third most strikeouts ever in a postseason game. Only Bob Gibson, who had 17 in 1968, and Kevin Brown, who had 16 in 1998, have had more strikeouts in a playoff game than Cole.
Gerrit Cole's 33 Swinging Strikes in 71 Seconds. pic.twitter.com/Qm8QXAywfm
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 6, 2019
Saturday also marked the 10th consecutive game that Cole had 10 or more strikeouts. He has struck out 125 batters in those 10 games, that’s more than some pitchers have had all season.
Out of his 15 strikeouts on Saturday, 14 of them were swinging strikeouts. Tampa Bay’s batters swung and missed a total of 33 times, a new career high for Cole.
This was the second time Cole had more than 10 strikeouts in a playoff game, making him the only Astros pitcher to do so.
Cole’s historic stretch, along with Justin Verlander also pitching some of the best games of his career, have made one thing clear: the American League pennant runs through Houston.
