The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that pitcher Ryan Vogelsong has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with facial fractures, and right-handed reliever A.J. Schugel will take his place on the active roster. Vogelsong was hit in the face by a 92 MPH fastball during yesterday’s game and had to leave the stadium via ambulance. Facial fractures obviously doesn’t sound good, so he will likely miss quite a bit of time. The Pirates didn’t give any other details of the injury or possible recovery time.
Schugel pitched earlier this season for the Pirates, posting a 4.96 ERA in 16.1 innings over 11 relief appearances. Since being sent down, he has made two appearances for Indianapolis, throwing 2.2 no-hit innings, with two walks and two strikeouts. He last pitched five days ago, so he will be available for long relief tonight if the need should arise.