PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes is eligible to come off the injured list on Wednesday. That's not likely to happen.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirming Tuesday Hayes has yet to swing a bat with his injured wrist even though he has begun fielding. It's not known when Hayes will start work at the plate, but you can believe it will take a few days at least after he starts hitting.
Hayes hurt his wrist during a swing in the opening series against the Cubs and hasn't played since. The favorite for NL Rookie of the Year has just 5 at bats this year with a homer, two RBI, two walks and two runs scored.
Difo in center
Utility infielder Wilmer Difo homered against the Cubs on Sunday and scored after a pinch-hit triple on Monday. Difo is batting second in the lineup against Padres lefty Blake Snell and starting in center field. This will be his fourth ever game in center in the majors.
"He's getting reps every day in BP and taking balls off the bat," Shelton said. "He played there in Spring Training a little bit. We saw him play there in Cincinnati. Tonight it's more the fact of getting a couple of more right handers in the lineup."
"He's more comfortable in center and Anthony (Alford) can play the corners. So we move Anthony to the corner."
Kuhl plan
A common thread in both of Chad Kuhl's starts this year is struggling in the first inning. Once Kuhl gets through the first he's settled down and been good.
In the opener against the Cubs, Kuhl could only go three innings due to the number of pitches thrown in the first. Kuhl gave up five runs against the Reds in the first and settled down to pitch three scoreless after that.
"First and foremost, we have to attack the zone," Shelton said. "We have to go after guys. The situations he's gotten into, he hasn't gotten into the best counts. So just need to make sure what he's done really well from the first inning on, we have to make sure we use it in the first inning."
Blame me
Luis Oviedo came into a tie game Monday night with the Padres with the meat of the Padres order in front of him and the Rule 5 pick gave up 5 runs to put the game out of reach.
"I think last night is on me because he hadn't pitched in six days," Shelton said. "We can't expect a 21-year-old kid to be sharp if we don't pitch him. I have to do a better job to find situations to come into games."
