Pittsburgh Pirates starter Gerrit Cole has been pitching with a blister?
By Ed Carroll
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Gerrit Cole retired the last 17 batters he faced against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, leading the Pirates to a second-consecutive postseason berth, and apparently did so with a blister on his finger, which bled onto his uniform:
Interesting to learn today that Gerrit Cole has been pitching through a blister ... apparently tied to his changeup grip
— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) September 24, 2014
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While blisters might be no big deal to someone such as you or I, for a Major League starting pitcher, blisters can cause problems, as it can affect how a pitcher grips the ball. If the pitcher has to adjust his grip to throw a ball pain-free, it’s not always guaranteed that the adjustment will be effective.
The blister didn’t seem to bother Cole that much on Tuesday, possibly because it affects mostly his changeup, according to Sawchik. Cole has a 3.78 ERA in 131 innings pitched this season, and has struck out 126 in his second year in the majors. The 2011 number one overall pick is having a solid sophomore season, and has been worth 1.7 fWAR in 2014, a year after he won win numbers 81 and 82 for the Pirates, which snapped a streak of 20 years with a losing record for the organization.
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