Astros' Cole wouldn't pay to watch an opener

Houston Astros starter Gerrit Cole isn't a fan of the opener.

The right-hander, who has started every game of his career and tossed 982 2/3 innings across six seasons, offered his opinion on the strategy.

"I’m not going to pay for a ticket to watch a math equation," Cole said, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.

Cole's criticism of the approach popularized by the Tampa Bay Rays came less than a week after Madison Bumgarner's comments regarding the opener went viral.

While speaking with reporters over the weekend, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said his ace contacted him during the winter meetings after hearing the club was considering the idea.

"If you use an opener in my game, I’m walking out of the ballpark," Bumgarner texted, albeit in a lighthearted manner.

Cole's comments about the opener strategy came after he won his arbitration hearing against the Astros.

While the low-budget Rays had 17 different pitchers start a game for them in 2018, including reliever Ryne Stanek, who opened 29 games, the 28-year-old Cole completed his third season of 200-plus innings pitched en route to a fifth-place finish in Cy Young voting.