Moran (bruised wrist) day to day after HBP

Pirates first baseman Colin Moran exited Monday’s 2-0 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field with an apparent left wrist injury after being hit by a pitch in the first inning.

Imaging done at Coors Field returned clean, per manager Derek Shelton. While certainly bruised, Moran will continue to be monitored by the Pirates with the hope that it is just a day-to-day issue.

“It is tough to watch because he's a great teammate [and] a great guy,” Kevin Newman said. “And just some really, really unfortunate and bad luck. So you hate to see that for anybody and especially your own teammate, so, hopefully, this is put behind him and never happens again. But he's definitely run into some tough luck here.”

Penciled in as the Pirates’ starter at first base and taking his first at-bat in the top of the first, the left-handed-hitting Moran took a 91.1 mph sinker from southpaw Kyle Freeland directly onto the left wrist.

Moran immediately went into a crouch in visible pain as Pirates training staff tended to him at first base. He stayed in to run the bases before the inning ended on Jacob Stallings’ strikeout.

In the bottom half of the frame, Moran came out for warmups at first base before walking off the field. Phillip Evans, who started in left field for Pittsburgh, moved to first base while Ben Gamel came in off the bench to play left field.

Moran missed much of May and the beginning of June with a left groin strain before he returned on June 6. This was the second time that Moran was hit by a pitch in the hand, having been hit in the right hand on June 9 in just his third game back.

It represents another instance of bad luck for Moran, who is looking to establish some consistency in both playing time and at the plate.

“It's challenging because of the fact that he's had a couple of injuries that he's had to battle through, and he was swinging the bat well before that,” Shelton said. “Now, he's trying to find his groove, then he gets hit again. We just need to get him No. 1: healthy, and then No. 2: back to where he was in April.”

Moran owns a .280/.345/.414 slash line with four home runs and 23 RBIs this season, representing a vital part of Pittsburgh’s lineup as a lefty power bat.