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Ray Searage: Liriano Healthy, Focusing On Executing Pitches

PITTSBURGH (KDKA 93-7 The Fan)- Pirates Pitching Coach Ray Searage was on with The Fan Morning Show Friday, as play resumes against the Colorado Rockies.

Searage talked about his expectations for Francisco Liriano, Friday's starter.

"With Frankie, we've got to get him back on track, and we're slowly getting there," Searage said. "A lot of people will look at the numbers when he pitched against Cincinnati, but I saw some good things coming out of him, getting him back into a nice rhythm. One thing that is for certain: he is healthy, so we're able to get over that speed bump and and then really focus on the X and O's and executing pitches against hitters."

Searage was asked about a timetable for Gerrit Cole's return from a lat injury, and he said that Cole is a little impatient to get back on the mound.

"We're not putting a timetable on it yet," Searage said. "We're going to take one side (session) at a time. Because he's so young, he wants things done yesterday. His thought process is everything is speeding up."

He added, "I'm like 'G, slow down, take a deep breath. I need you here today and work on what we're doing today and when tomorrow comes to be today, I need you in today.'"

What will be the biggest challenge for Searage in the second half of the season?

"I think it's going to be maintaining the consistency of the starters going deeper into the games. Teams are going to be making adjustments on us. We're not going to be the only team shooting for the postseason," Searage said.

Ray Searage: Liriano Healthy, Focusing on Executing Pitches

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