Pirates place Cole on DL
ST. LOUIS – The Pittsburgh Pirates placed starting pitcher Gerrit Cole on the 15-day disabled list following Monday night’s game against St. Louis with a strained oblique muscle, meaning the team will be without its No. 1 starter until after the All-Star break.
Cole, 23, is making his second trip to the disabled list this season. He missed three weeks earlier this season with shoulder fatigue.
“He wants to pitch, he wants to compete, he’s such an aggressive kid,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “The risk, I don’t think, is worth the reward for this particular start.”
Despite the injury, Cole is 7-4 with a 3.78 ERA. The top-overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft, Cole went 10-7 as a rookie in 2013.
Cole was scheduled to start today against St. Louis, the third game of a four-game series against the Cardinals.
Pittsburgh recalled Brandon Cumpton from its Class AAA team in Indianapolis to take Cole’s spot in the rotation.
Cumpton is 3-2 with a 4.61 ERA in nine starts for the Pirates this season.