Cole terrorizes Rays with playoff franchise record 15 Ks

Houston Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole set a new postseason franchise record with 15 strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was removed after issuing his first walk of the game on his 118th pitch.

Only St. Louis Cardinals legend Bob Gibson (17) in 1968 and Kevin Brown (16) in 1998 have struck out more batters in a playoff game.

Cole was still touching 100 mph on his fastball despite being well over 100 pitches. But it wasn't just his fastball. Cole mixed in his knuckle-curve and slider to keep Rays hitters off balance throughout his entire outing.

It's a nice rebound from Cole's last postseason appearance. He allowed four earned runs over six innings while striking out five in his lone start in last year's ALCS against the Boston Red Sox.