Cole (8-8) took the loss against the Padres on Sunday, allowing four runs on six hits and no walks in seven innings. He struck out three.
Cole started his outing by giving up home runs to the first three batters he faced. This was actually the second time in Cole's career that he allowed three consecutive homers to start a game -- the first came in 2022 against the Twins. The right-hander served up a fourth solo homer in the seventh inning but still tied his longest outing of the campaign. Cole has issued two or fewer walks in each of his past five starts, though he hasn't had his strikeout stuff lately with just 13 punchouts over his past three outings (18.1 innings). He lines up for a matchup with the Mets his next time out.