Houston Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole felt encouraged Wednesday by test results on his right hamstring after he was scratched from a start Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox.
“We got some good news back today that it’s not super serious,” Cole said after the Astros’ 13-9 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon. “So we’ll just take it day by day right now, and kind of see how it responds to some treatment and some rest. Then get back out there as soon as we can.”
After communicating with Cole earlier in the day, manager A.J. Hinch said, “He reports feeling good. We have to run the course of getting him evaluated.”
Cole (14-5, 2.87 ERA) was scheduled to get the start in the second game of a Tuesday doubleheader but had some discomfort in his right leg while warming up.
“I warmed up well on the flat ground. It was just kind of bizarre. I was easing into it and it just kept grabbing me,” Cole said. “… Just had some discomfort getting through the ball. I really wasn’t 100 percent ready to go at that point. I wasn’t able to ramp it up.”
While general manager Jeff Luhnow indicated that Cole did have previous hamstring issues, they never involved his right leg. As a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cole’s previous stints on the injured list were arm- or elbow-related.
Cole, who is expected to join the team during a four-game series at the Oakland Athletics that begins Thursday, is 8-0 with a 1.77 ERA, 17 walks and 86 strikeouts in his last 10 starts. His last loss was on May 22 against the Chicago White Sox.
Cole hopes a quick recovery will allow him to pitch later in the series. He liked what he heard from the doctor.
“He was just encouraged by what he saw,” Cole said. “The recovery barring any setbacks, along with the way I’m feeling, (the recovery) should be pretty quick.”
The American League Pitcher of the Month for June and July, Cole is 2-0 in August, and most recently was the winning pitcher when the Astros defeated the Colorado Rockies 14-3 on Aug. 7 in Houston.
