Musgrove saluted in H-Town ahead of finale
HOUSTON -- Joe Musgrove gained an endearing fan following during his brief time with the Astros prior to being traded to the Pirates last Jan. 13, both for his contributions to Houston's first and only World Series title and for his presence in the community as one of the more civic-minded, philanthropic players.
The Astros saluted Musgrove for both prior to the Bucs' game in Houston on Tuesday, with a brief scoreboard tribute and kind words from public address announcer Bob Ford on behalf of the team.
"For them to remember me for the stuff I did off the field, I think that's really cool," Musgrove said. "That's ultimately what I'm trying to do. Baseball is a huge part of my life, but it's going to be over soon and I have a lot of life to live. I don't want to be remembered for just being a good baseball player. It's really cool that they recognized me for that. I'm really appreciative of it."
Musgrove, who pitched for the Astros from 2016-17, tossed six scoreless innings to fuel a 10-0 win for the Pirates in the series finale against his former team on Thursday. He's been looking forward to facing them for a while.
"There's a chance for things to get a little sped up on you -- the anxiousness and excitement of it kind of overwhelms you," he said. “I'm ready for it. I prepared for every situation, every scenario. They saw me a lot, obviously, playing behind me for a year-and-a-half, two years. But I also got a front row seat to watch them every night.
“I've got a good plan of attack, it's just going to be who can make the adjustments in game."
Injury updates
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk provided the team's weekly injury update prior to Wednesday's game. Here's the rundown:
• Outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who was hit by a pitch on the back of his calf on Sunday against the Padres, was out of the starting lineup on Wednesday for the second straight game, though he was slated to be available off the bench.
• Right-hander Nick Burdi, who underwent surgery Tuesday to relieve symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, is "in good spirits," according to Tomczyk, and is recovering in St. Louis, where the procedure was performed. Burdi will be reexamined in three weeks. He's expected to participate in full baseball activities by Spring Training 2020.
• Right-hander Jameson Taillon (right elbow flexor tendon strain) is close to playing catch.
"We're still cautiously optimistic to what that means, but I would say, probably over the weekend, we'll put a baseball in his hand and we'll see how the results are,” Tomczyk said.
• Right-hander Keone Kela (right shoulder inflammation) is with the team in Houston and throwing on flat ground at 105 feet.
"He's pain free and in a good spot mechanically, good spot psychologically with his team," Tomczyk said. "We're still mapping out what this return to the program looks like."
• Outfielder Gregory Polanco (left posterior shoulder inflammation): The shoulder is regaining strength and things are "trending upward," Tomczyk said. Polanco is swinging the bat, now that the inflammation has calmed down.
• Catcher Francisco Cervelli (concussion symptoms): Cervelli is in Pittsburgh, undergoing a battery of tests with the club's neurology staff. No decisions have been made yet about his next step.
• Right-hander Rookie Davis (right middle finger blister): Davis threw a bullpen last Tuesday, but he experienced right forearm tightness. He saw team physicians, who recommended 10 days of no throwing, and he's about five days into that, currently in Florida rehabbing.
Transactions
Jason Martin was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis as part of a corresponding roster move when righty Dario Agrazal was recalled to make Wednesday's start against the Astros.
Also, the Orioles acquired Minor League infielder Patrick Dorrian from the Pirates as the player to be named in the Yefry Ramirez trade on May 27.