Cole did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks over five innings during an 8-7 defeat to the Rays in extras. He struck out six.

EDGE Analysis

Cole had been a prototypical ace over his first seven starts, posting a 1.35 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 52:14 K:BB across 46.2 innings, but Sunday's performance was a step in the wrong direction. He was spotted a six-run lead and held Tampa Bay scoreless through four innings, but he couldn't maintain the advantage and surrendered six answered runs, including home runs by Jose Siri and Christian Bethancourt, before being pulled with no outs in the sixth. The homers were the first allowed by the right-hander this year, and his five innings were a season low. Cole's next start is projected for a rematch against the Rays, so it'll be a solid bounce-back opportunity after he submitted his worst outing of the campaign thus far.