Freese put on 10-day DL
MIAMI — The Pirates offense took another hit Saturday when David Freese went on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained right hamstring.
“David is best suited to take the time he needs to take to come back good,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Not OK; to [come] back in a good spot. He was in a very good spot for us to this point. We want to make sure of the fact that he doesn’t feel pressed to get back and we’ll move on from here.”
Outfielder Danny Ortiz took Freese’s place on the roster. Freese’s DL trip is retroactive to Wednesday, making him eligible to return May 5.
The Pirates began the season with Freese, who turned 34 Friday, as their everyday third baseman because of Jung Ho Kang’s absence. He was their best hitter for a month, batting .321 with a .418 on-base percentage and a .536 slugging percentage. He hit three home runs and walked 10 times, compared to eight strikeouts.
Freese hurt the hamstring Monday and had not played since. He joins Kang, Adam Frazier and Starling Marte in the group of inactive position players.
Frazier is also on the DL because of a strained hamstring; Marte is suspended until after the All-Star break; and Kang remains in South Korea after being denied a visa and with a May 25 court date on the docket. The Pirates rank 14th out of 15 National League teams in runs scored, even after the 12-run outburst Friday against Miami. They have hit the second-fewest home runs and their .245 team average ranks 11th in the league.
Ortiz, 27, can play all three outfield positions. He had a .499 OPS with Class AAA Indianapolis this season. In 2016, his first in the Pirates organization after signing as a minor league free agent, Ortiz hit 17 home runs, but with a .275 OBP.
This is his first trip to the major leagues.
“This is something you work so hard to get to,” Ortiz said in Spanish, with interpreter Mike Gonzalez translating. “It’s a dream come true.”
The Pirates had an open spot on their 40-man roster, so they did not need to clear one to add Ortiz. They could have called up Chris Bostick, Indianapolis’ best hitter to date, but wanted a true outfielder.
“As you plan for different scenarios, say [Andrew] McCutchen tweaks [something] and [Gregory] Polanco tweaks in the same game, who plays center field?” Hurdle said.
Kuhl’s control problem
Chad Kuhl said he did not feel the need to review film from his previous start, when he allowed nine runs in 12⁄ innings against the Chicago Cubs, prior to his next outing Sunday.
He knows where the problem originated — a wayward pitch to Anthony Rizzo that resulted in a walk after two quick outs in the first.
“Really that’s kind of where it all went crazy on me,” Kuhl said. “It’s not like I didn’t make good pitches after that. … You make that pitch, you’re out of the inning.”
Kuhl had pitched well in his first three starts of the season before five-out outing Monday at PNC park.
“My [warm-ups] felt good,” he said. “I feel fine. I’m in a good spot.”