NEW YORK – Starling Marte was removed from the game last night after getting hit in the face with a ball. He tried to make a diving catch, couldn’t come up with it, and the ball bounced up and hit him in the cheekbone area under the left eye. He wasn’t in the lineup tonight, with Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle giving him more time for the swelling to go down.
“He’s doing better,” Hurdle said. “I think what we’re trying to do is continue to work on getting the swelling out, to get it down.”
Hurdle wasn’t sure what Marte could do in tonight’s game at the time of his pre-game meeting with the media.
Another player who is out tonight is Chris Stewart. The Pirates gave Stewart off last night, after a series of injuries in the last week. He’s dealt with injuries to his left foot, knee, left elbow, ribs, and more. He’s getting another day off tonight, giving him additional rest.
“He can use another day,” Hurdle said. “It’s kind of like putting the straw back in the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. We’re just putting the straw back in him right now.”
Hurdle did say that Stewart might be ready for tomorrow, when the Pirates play the Cubs. That would be a day game following a night game, so it would make sense to rest him tonight, since he’s probably not starting both of those games anyways.
John Jaso is also out of the lineup tonight for only the second time with a right-hander on the mound. However, Hurdle said that was more about the matchup, with David Freese having good history against Bartolo Colon.
Here is the lineup for tonight’s game: