Worth noting

By Tom Singer

August 14, 2013

• Gerrit Cole's turn was skipped in this series against the Cardinals -- he will start the opener of the Bucs' home series against Arizona on Friday -- but not because the club has reached the point of actively wanting to limit the rookie right-hander's innings. Between Triple-A Indianapolis (68) and the parent club (66), Cole has logged 134 innings compared to 132 last season, his first as a pro.

The club opted to start their three veteran pitchers -- Charlie Morton, Francisco Liriano and A.J. Burnett -- in St. Louis.

If an eventual decision is reached to curtail his workload, Cole may be used out of the bullpen according to Hurdle, who added, "That's possible, later. Right now we're just monitoring his innings. There haven't been any lengthy conversations about it."

• Liriano, Wednesday night's starter against the Cardinals, went to work with an 0-3 record in three starts against the Reds -- and 6-0 with a 1.08 ERA against the other NL Central clubs.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer.