Astros Fans Need to Keep an Eye on Gerrit Cole's Hamstring

The Houston Astros are being forced to hold their collective breaths as they await to find out the severity of Gerrit Cole's hamstring knock. The three-time All-Star was scratched from his Tuesday start against the White Sox after experiencing discomfort in his right hamstring during warm-ups.

The severity of the injury is not yet known as the 28-year-old right-hander underwent tests and an MRI just last night.

"We’ll get him tested even further and see where this takes us," manager AJ Hinch said during the post-game presser. "He doesn’t think it’s that serious. I’m glad he told us, and we hope it was mild.”

The knock couldn't come at a worst time as Cole has quite literally been in the form of his career over the last few months. Across his last 14 starts, the UCLA product is 10-0 with a 1.98 ERA, a run that saw him land the AL's Pitcher of the Month Award for both June and July.

Whenever you hear that an athlete is dealing with a hamstring injury, you can't help but cringe at the thought of a potential timetable. Whether it's a strain or something as little as a slight irritation, it's an ailment that athletes cannot return from unless they are feeling 100 percent because of the ever-prevalent possibility of a setback.

Stay tuned for updates on Cole's status. As always, we'll provide them as soon as they are made available.