Put a star next to this one.
After last night's miserable performance by Francisco Liriano, the Pirates needed a strong outing from their other putative ace, Gerrit Cole. He responded with one of the most dominant performances of his career: his first-ever complete game, a 93-pitch, 69-strike, three-hit, no-walk masterpiece. His repertoire featured a crisp fastball that was hitting 97 mph from the first inning, pinpoint control, and a sharp curve. After throwing 21 pitches in a first inning that included a leadoff double by Nori Aoki and a fastball that hit Robinson Cano in the calf, Cole pitched eight efficient innings.