CHICAGO -- Catcher Francisco Cervelli exited Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field in the fourth inning after he was hit near the jaw by a foul tip.
He was removed from the game strictly as a precaution.
In the third, Jason Heyward fouled off a pitch that caught Cervelli first on the shoulder, then on the left side of his facemask. Cervelli remained in the game, even after a brief visit from manager Clint Hurdle and head athletic trainer Bryan Housand, and grounded out to third base in the top of the fourth.
Cervelli slowly jogged down the first-base line after his grounder and did not return to the field in the bottom of the frame. Elias Diaz took his place behind the plate to work with starter Nick Kingham.
Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates' director of sports medicine, said after the game that the Pirates had "no new information to report," as Cervelli was still being examined by a club physician. The Pirates will monitor Cervelli for "concussion-like symptoms," as they do any time a player is hit in the head or face.
Jacob Stallings, the only other catcher on the 40-man roster, should be available on Sunday if needed. Stallings had been scheduled to start for Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday night, but Ryan Lavarnway replaced him in the lineup shortly before the Pirates transferred catcher Jackson Williams to the Triple-A roster.