PITTSBURGH — Catcher Chris Stewart hopes to be back in the Pirates’ lineup on Tuesday. He will again sit out Monday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants with knee soreness and discomfort. It’s an issue that has been hounding Stewart for a while now.
“I think it arose from my ankle being so beat up, I think I was compensating with some other body parts,” he said Monday afternoon.
Stewart’s ankle took a beating in the last homestand, when he fouled two balls off it and was also ran into in a collision at home plate. After playing June 14 in New York, he knew “something wasn’t right” with his knee. He tried to go again on June 17 in Chicago, but the next day, he was again confronted with the same symptoms.
Jacob Stallings was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to start on Sunday. Erik Kratz will start Monday night in Pittsburgh, giving Stewart three consecutive days off. He’s hopeful that will be enough to have him back in the starting lineup on Tuesday.
“It’s just giving it time to get under control, give the rest of my body enough time to heal properly to where I’m not compensating in any other areas,” he said. “I want to make sure that once I am back, I’m helping the team, not just being back in there to be in there.”
Stewart said he would be able to pinch-hit if “it was up to him.”
VOGELSONG UPDATE
Ryan Vogelsong is back to full vision.
The Pirates’ long reliever and occasional starter was struck in the left eye by a fastball back on May 23, and had surgery to repair seven fractures on three bones June 2. From a vision standpoint, he’s been given a clean bill of health.
“At the last appointment, I was back to 20-20 in the left eye and they did what a field test — which is basically a peripheral test — and I passed with flying colors,” he said.
Vogelsong is throwing again, but he isn’t able to catch the ball out of an abundance of precaution for his still-healing injury.
Vogelsong hopes to be ready to go as soon as he is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list, which is July 23.
“That’s my hope,” he said.
He anticipates having a minor-league rehab assignment before coming off the disabled list.
