Cole (1-0) scattered four hits and struck out 10 without walking a batter over 6.2 shutout innings to earn the win over the Royals on Wednesday.
This was Cole's second start since his return from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander has had limits on his workload over his first two starts this year, but it's hardly noticeable with how efficient he's been so far. Cole threw 59 of 79 pitches for strikes Wednesday and has logged 12.2 scoreless frames with a 12:3 K:BB over his first two starts. Cole should push into the 80-to-90-pitch range for his next outing, which is tentatively projected to come at home versus the Guardians next week.