Pirates place Cole on DL

The Pittsburgh Pirates placed ace Gerrit Cole on the 15-day disabled list because of right elbow inflammation.

Cole pitched five shaky innings in a 5-4 loss to Houston on Wednesday, and then let the team know he experienced some discomfort during the outing. He had a 6.08 earned-run average in five August starts.

Left-hander Steven Brault was promoted from triple-A Indianapolis to take Cole’s spot in the rotation Monday night at the Chicago Cubs.

Cole’s injury means none of Pittsburgh’s five starters from opening day are currently in the rotation. Francisco Liriano and Jon Niese left via trade and Jeff Locke and Juan Nicasio are working out of the bullpen.

Etc.

The Minnesota Twins placed center fielder Danny Santana on the 15-day disabled list because of a sprained left shoulder. Santana was injured when he collided with left fielder Robbie Grossman in the first inning Sunday in Toronto. ... The Cleveland Indians placed right-hander Danny Salazar on the paternity list.