PITTSBURGH _ The 29th start of Gerrit Cole's season was his best. The stifling of the Chicago Cubs was thorough and complete. They could not touch him.
They found a way to get to Daniel Hudson, who allowed the game's only run in the Pirates' 1-0 loss at PNC Park on Wednesday.
Hudson entered in the ninth to face the heart of the Cubs' lineup: Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Ian Happ. A walk to Rizzo resulted in a run when Alex Avila tripled into the right-field corner. Felipe Rivero did not pitch against the left-handed Rizzo or the switch-hitting Happ, who has a higher average against lefties this season but better on-base and power numbers against righties.
Cole's season followed an uneven trajectory. An excellent first month and a half gave way to a four-start span full of homers. He pulled it together in June and had a strong month of July. August had its ups _ seven shutout innings against the Reds on Aug. 26 _ and downs, like the grand slam on the 112th pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 21 that led to five runs in 6 1/3 innings.
A strong argument exists for the fact that Cole's best start of the season came prior to Wednesday against the Cubs, back on April 25. During that game, which the Pirates lost 1-0, he allowed two hits and an unearned run, striking out eight without walking a batter. He needed only 78 pitches to finish seven innings. In two starts this season against Chicago, Cole had a 2.38 ERA, and he was 9-3 with a 2.74 ERA against them in 13 career starts.
Three walks and four strikeouts Wednesday drove Cole's pitch count to 39 through the first two innings. That inefficiency vanished in the third. Cole retired 14 consecutive batters from the end of the second inning through the seventh. The one hit the Cubs managed during that time was Javier Baez's infield single, a swinging bunt that David Freese could not quite bare-hand.
Happ walked and reached second base in the seventh inning, but Cole stranded him there. He ended his outing with 108 pitches, meaning he needed only 69 in his final six innings.
The only non-closer lefty in the bullpen, Wade LeBlanc, pitched three innings Tuesday night, so with Baez and lefties Kyle Schwarber and Jon Jay due up, Cole started the eighth. He retired Baez and Schwarber, but Jay lined a broken-bat single to left for the Cubs' second hit of the game and first since the second inning.
Jose Quintana limited the Pirates' damage to singles through six innings, and rarely did they come at the right time.
After Jose Osuna's hit put men on first and second with one out in the fourth, Quintana struck out Sean Rodriguez, and Bryant's leaping catch of Jordy Mercer' line drive ended the inning and saved a run.
Osuna spoiled several good pitches in a 10-pitch at-bat that drove Quintana's pitch count north of 100 in the sixth inning. Singles by Andrew McCutchen and Freese gave the Pirates runners on first and second with nobody out. Osuna hit a low liner to Baez at short. The ball short-hopped into Baez's glove, but McCutchen had to respect the chance that Baez would catch it. This let the Cubs turn a 6-5-4 double play and kill the rally in its tracks.
Quintana pitched six scoreless innings and struck out six.
