With the season on the line in a winner-take-all showdown against the Boston Red Sox, there isn’t any pitcher we could want on the bump more than Gerrit Cole. A suitable candidate for the 2021 Cy Young Award, Cole notched a 3.23 ERA, 2.92 FIP, and 243 strikeouts in 181.1 innings of work.
Even so, Cole has notably struggled in his last three games. Against Cleveland on September 19th, he gave up an uncharacteristic ten hits and seven earned runs, and on September 24th against the Red Sox, he gave up another five hits and three earned runs, despite earning a tick in the win-column.