Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez, who experienced left forearm discomfort in the last two pitches of Sunday’s game, was diagnosed with minor irritation to one of the flexor muscles. Vazquez said he felt back to normal Monday.
“I felt like a little pop, but it was not — it looked worse than it really happened,” Vazquez said.
The left-hander went through evaluations by team doctors and will be re-evaluated Tuesday, said Todd Tomcyzk, the team’s director of sports medicine.
Vazquez is day to day but is unavailable for Monday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. While Tomcyzk said he would not throw Monday, Vazquez was playing catch on the field before the game.
Vazquez said he his forearm felt “really tight” and couldn’t move his ring finger during Sunday’s game, which affected his control; he threw five of 16 pitches for strikes. He expects to be available Tuesday, although manager Clint Hurdle did not commit to a particular timeline. Hurdle did not reveal the Pirates’ plans for an alternative closer, should they require one.
Vazquez, who has now had three poor outings in a row, including Sunday, did not seem overly concerned about his recent struggles.
“I’m just trying to shake it off and try to get through it,” he said.
Vazquez said he experienced a similar issue as a minor leaguer in 2014 and had to take several weeks off, but he said he knew Sunday’s injury wasn’t as serious as that injury.
The clubhouse DJ said he would avoid spinning the turntables Monday, too.
“Day off for a DJ too,” he said.
Cervelli still off
Catcher Elias Diaz will start Monday. Francisco Cervelli is off for the second game in a row with flu-like symptoms. … Austin Meadows will start in right field in place of Gregroy Polanco and bat second. Hurdle did not say whether Polanco, who is 3 for 35 since May 16, would sit for more than one game.
Kontos update
The Pirates placed right-hander George Kontos on unconditional release waivers in order to grant him his release. The team designated Kontos for assignment Friday to clear a spot for Joe Musgrove.
Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1750 and Twitter @BloomPG.
First Published: May 28, 2018, 2:49 p.m.
