OAKLAND, Calif. -- Any questions the Houston Astros had about Gerrit Cole's ability to bounce back from his first career shutout were answered when the right-hander pumped a 99.4 mph fastball past Matt Chapman for a strikeout.
And that was on Cole's final pitch of the afternoon.
Cole struck out nine to raise his major league-leading total to 86, and the Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
"I kind of left it all out there," Cole said. "I was a little sluggish today for a bunch of different variables.