Pirates’ Mercer out six weeks
Shortstop joins 3B Harrison on DL until September.
Pittsburgh shortstop Jordy Mercer is expected to miss six weeks with a lower leg contusion and an MCL sprain in his left knee, leaving the Pirates without their starters on the left side of the infield possibly until September.
The Pirates put Mercer on the 15-day disabled list Monday, a day after he was hurt in a collision with Carlos Gomez in Milwaukee.
Third baseman Josh Harrison went on the disabled list July 7 with a torn left thumb ligament and is expected to miss seven weeks.
“Yeah, it’s a challenge,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “The beautiful thing about this game is no other team really cares. So we’re going to play on, opportunities to bring next man up or put a new man in. That’s what we’ll continue to do.”
The Pirates began the day 4½ games behind St. Louis in the NL Central.
Mercer was batting .192 at the end of May, but hit .304 in June to raise his average to .242 before the injury.
Dodgers: Catcher A.J. Ellis was put on the 15-day disabled list with right knee inflammation and rookie catcher Austin Barnes was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Also, outfielder Carl Crawford joined the team and is expected to be activated today. He has been out since April 28 with a right oblique strain.
Reds: Reliever Manny Parra was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore elbow.
Braves: Left-hander Andrew McKirahan was reinstated from his 80-game suspension and right-hander Ryan Kelly was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. McKirahan’s suspension followed a positive test for the banned substance Ipamorelin, which releases growth hormone.
Angels: The Angel Stadium grounds crew brought in a helicopter to dry the outfield before Monday’s first game of a split doubleheader against the Red Sox. Sunday night’s postponement was the Angels’ first home rainout since June 16, 1995, and just the 16th time in their 55-year franchise history.
Mets: Their total of 25 stranded runners in Sunday’s 3-1, 18-inning win over the Cardinals tied the third-most in MLB history. The Mets became the first team since the Royals on June 6, 1991, to leave as many runners on and still win.
Rangers: Righthander Nick Martinez was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to start Monday night’s game. Reliever Anthony Ranaudo was optioned to Triple-A.
Orioles: Chinese infielder Gui Yuan “Itchy” Xu, 19, was signed as an international free agent. Xu is the first player signed by a major league team to come from the MLB’s international developmental centers. Xu has been a member of MLB’s developmental center in Wuxi, China, since 2010.