Cole to Start World Series Game 1 on Tuesday
October 21, 2019 | Baseball
Former UCLA standout Gerrit Cole and his Houston Astros will vie for the 2019 World Series Championship starting on Tuesday.
Cole, who has been near-unhittable this postseason en route to a 0.40 ERA, has been tabbed the Astros' Game 1 starter against the Washington Nationals.
The ace right-hander is attempting to become the first Bruin alumni to win the World Series as a player since Brandon Crawford did so with the San Francisco Giants in 2014.
Cole had a career year in 2019 with the Astros, posting a 20-5 won-lost record while leading the American League in both ERA (2.50) and strikeouts (326).
His "K" total represents a new Astros franchise record, and the club has won 16 consecutive games started by Cole dating back to Jul. 12.
He has stepped up his dominance another level in the postseason, surrendering just one run and striking out 32 over 22 2/3 innings this October. He posted 15 strikeouts – tied for third-most in MLB single-game postseason history – in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against Tampa Bay, then pitched Houston into the American League Championship Series with eight innings of one-run ball in Game 5 of the ALDS.
As a three-year rotation member at UCLA from 2009-11, Cole recorded a career 3.38 ERA with 376 strikeouts in 322 1/3 innings before being selected No. 1 overall by Pittsburgh in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He is the only pitcher in program history to record 100+ strikeouts in three individual seasons and still ranks second in UCLA history for career strikeouts.
2019 World Series Schedule (TV: FOX)
Game 1 – Washington at Houston – Tuesday, Oct. 22, 5:08 p.m. PT
Game 2 – Washington at Houston – Wednesday, Oct. 23, 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 3 – Houston at Washington – Friday, Oct. 25, 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 4 – Houston at Washington – Saturday, Oct. 26, 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 5 (if necessary) – Houston at Washington – Sunday, Oct. 27, 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 6 (if necessary) – Washington at Houston – Tuesday, Oct. 29, 5:07 p.m. PT
Game 7 (if necessary ) – Washington at Houston – Wednesday, Oct. 30, 5:08 p.m. PT
