Chicago shuts out Pirates
CHICAGO – Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole expressed confidence he’ll return this season after returning to the team and playing catch Tuesday.
Cole was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday and traveled to Los Angeles for a second opinion with a specialist, who confirmed posterior elbow inflammation.
“This is very encouraging news,” Pirates trainer Todd Tomczyk said. “He is now focused on how he is going to help this team win some ballgames the rest of the season.”
Pittsburgh entered Tuesday night’s game against the Cubs 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second NL wild card.
Cole, 7-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 20 starts, played catch in right field with Tomczyk before Tuesday’s game as pitching coach Ray Searage looked on.
“It’s comforting to have confirmation that you’ll be OK,” Cole said.
Cole is on the DL retroactive to last Thursday, meaning he is eligible to return Sept. 9.
Cole had a 6.08 ERA in five August starts and said he alerted the team of a “level of discomfort that was concerning” after allowing five runs and seven hits in five innings last Wednesday against Houston.
Tomczyk said it’s uncertain how Cole was injured. He missed time in spring training with sore ribs and spent more than a month on the disabled list earlier this season with a strained right triceps.
“That is an ongoing discussion. He did have a slow start to the season with the rib injury,” Tomczyk said. “That could be a factor. And there’s the assumed risk of throwing a baseball.”
Cole’s absence means all five starters from the beginning of the season are no longer in Pittsburgh’s rotation. Yet the Pirates remain in the thick of the playoff race.
“It’s like coming back from a road trip and your wife has rearranged the furniture,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “After you bump your shin a couple times, you’ve got to find a different way to cross the living room.
“We’ve had to find a different way to get across the room this year. And it’s been a really good opportunity to learn.”
The Pirates have sent outfielder Tito Polo and left-hander Stephen Tarpley to the New York Yankees to complete the Aug. 1 deal in which Pittsburgh acquired right-hander Ivan Nova.
In five starts with the Pirates Nova has gone 4-0 with a 2.87 ERA and one complete game. He has struck out 22 and walked one.
Polo, 22, hit .289 with 16 homers in 109 games between Class-A Bradenton and West Virginia this season and was selected as a South Atlantic League Midseason All-Star.
Tarpley, 23, was 6-4 with a 4.32 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 100 innings in 20 starts with Class-A Bradenton.
The Pirates also recalled infielder Alen Hanson and left-hander Kelvin Marte from Triple-A Indianapolis. To make room on the active roster, right-hander Jameson Taillon and left-hander Steven Brault were optioned to Class-A Bristol.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Marte, left-hander Kyle Lobstein was designated for assignment.
Two minor leaguers have been suspended for the final seven days of their season after being arrested and charged in connection with an incident in Toledo, Ohio.
Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement Tuesday the team was “extremely disappointed” with the actions of RHP Dovydas Neverauskas and INF Gift Ngoepe of Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Ngoepe was charged with one count of simple assault and two counts of resisting arrest and Neverauskas was charged with two counts of resisting arrest and one count of misconduct. They were arrested early Sunday following a “large disorder” near a pub, according to an incident reports.
The 23-year-old Neverauskas, from Lithuania, has split time with Indianapolis and Double-A Altoona this season. The 26-year-old Ngoepe, from South Africa, has spent all season with Indianapolis. Neither has played in the majors.