Pirates place SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa on IL, select veteran RHP Tanner Rainey to boost bullpen
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued to shuffle their shortstops and bullpen Saturday, when they placed Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain and selected the contract of right-handed reliever Tanner Rainey from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Kiner-Falefa’s injury is retroactive to May 1. Jared Triolo is scheduled to start his third consecutive game at shortstop when the Pirates play the San Diego Padres on Saturday. The Pirates recalled Liover Peguero from Indianapolis before Friday’s series opener for depth.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Rainey, a non-roster invitee to spring training, posted a 6.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and one save in nine innings over nine appearances, holding opponents to a .212 batting average.
Rainey, 32, was 5-10 with a 4.49 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 15 saves in six seasons with the Washington Nationals, averaging 11.3 strikeouts and 5.6 walks per nine innings. He made appearances last season, recording 44 strikeouts against 29 walks while posting a 4.76 ERA.
To make room for Rainey on the 40-man roster, the Pirates transferred right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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