Jun. 30—A day after leaving a game when he got hit by a pitch in his left wrist, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Colin Moran remained out of the lineup but was “doing better.”
“He’s moving around,” manager Derek Shelton said via video conference call before Tuesday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies. “He’s getting treatment … so, hopefully, as the day goes on, he’ll continue to get better.”
Moran did not play Monday beyond the first-inning plate appearance in Denver. Phillip Evans manned first base the remainder of that game and started Tuesday’s game at first, too.
Moran, who missed 24 games earlier this season with a left groin strain, also missed two games earlier this month because of back tightness. He left a June 9 game when he was hit by a pitch in his right hand.
“The last time he got hit, we gave him a few days and he came in and felt great,” Shelton said.
Shelton said X-rays were negative but that he could not predict if Moran could return to the lineup for the series finale Wednesday.
“I think we’ll just kind of go by how he is,” Shelton said.
Howard reinstated
The Pirates got back their most-used bullpen arm Tuesday, reactivating Sam Howard from the injured list.
A veteran left-hander, Howard led the Pirates in appearances with 33 before being placed on the injured list June 20 because of what the team termed “right knee tendinitis.”
Howard spent the minimum 10 days on the IL, being activated as soon as he was eligible.
During the unique circumstances of the 2021 season in which pitchers’ arms across the league did not have the benefit of a full workload in 2020 because of the coronavirus-altered 60-game schedule, being shut down for 10 days isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Having given him a little bit of a blow, he feels better than he did 10 days ago, which is important for us,” Shelton said. “It’s nice to have him back in our bullpen.”
Howard (4.44 ERA, 1.25 WHIP in 26 1/3 innings) did not allow a hit to a left-handed batter between April 13 and June 18. He also has not allowed any of the 15 runners he has inherited this season to score.
Lefty reliever Austin Davis was optioned back to Triple-A Indianapolis. Davis sat idle for the final eight days of this stint with the Pirates, making his only appearance during a scoreless ninth of a June 20 loss to the Cleveland Indians.
Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news.
Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris by email at cadamski@triblive.com or via Twitter .