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