Ke’Bryan Hayes’ injury suffered while colliding with Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras on Thursday is serious enough to keep him out of the starting lineup Friday for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ game against the Rays in Tampa, Fla. Hoy Park will start at third base.
Meanwhile, the Pirates called up veteran right-hander Austin Brice from Triple-A Indianapolis and designated pitcher Jerad Eickoff for assignment.
Brice, 30, has a 4-4 record with a 5.17 ERA, 155 strikeouts and 63 walks in 140 games — all but one in relief. In parts of six seasons, he has played for the Miami Marlins (2016, ‘19), Cincinnati Reds (2017-18) and Boston Red Sox (2020-21).
Brice is the first and only major league player born in Hong Kong. He grew up in North Carolina, but was born overseas while his father was doing international construction work.
For Indianapolis this season, Brice is 2-2 with five saves, a 3.04 ERA, 31 strikeouts and 11 walks in 24 relief appearances. He has limited right-handed hitters to a .197 batting average.
Eickhoff, 31, made his lone appearance with the Pirates on Wednesday when he was the starter and losing pitcher against the Cubs while allowing 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings.
