LEADING OFF: Cole-McCullers, Willie Mays' 90th birthday

A look at what’s happening around the majors Thursday:

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OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET

Gerrit Cole (4-1, 1.43 ERA) starts against Houston for the first time since leaving the Astros for a $324 million, nine-year contract with the Yankees before the 2020 season. He’ll face friend and former teammate Lance McCullers Jr. (2-1, 3.38 ERA) when the American League powers wrap up their three-game series in a New York matinee.

“Lance is certainly one of the premier competitors in the league with fantastic stuff, so I think it’s going to be a fun matchup,” Cole said.

Cole, the AL pitcher of the month for April, struck out 12 and walked none over six innings of four-hit ball last Friday in a 10-0 win against punchless Detroit. He spent 2018-19 with the Astros, going 35-10 with a 2.69 ERA and an average of 301 strikeouts per season. The right-hander made two All-Star teams in Houston, finished second in 2019 AL Cy Young Award voting and helped the Astros reach the World Series that year.

“It was a really special time in my career,” he said. “I was adopted so quickly into the clubhouse. The team was super fun to be around.”

Since getting traded from Pittsburgh to Houston, Cole leads the majors in wins (46) and strikeouts (758), and ranks third in ERA (2.61). He again credited Astros pitching coach Brent Strom and the team’s pitching philosophy for giving him a huge boost.

“I think when I think back the biggest thing I’m thankful for was such a team environment that we could all share knowledge with each other and really forward our careers individually, whether it be with the Astros or whether it took you somewhere else,” Cole said.

SAY HEY KID

Willie Mays turns 90 on Thursday. He is the oldest living Hall of Famer.

A New York and...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/LEADING-OFF-Cole-McCullers-Willie-Mays-90th-16155111.php