Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Four hits in Sunday's win
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa went 4-for-4 on Sunday against the Twins.
Kiner-Falefa singled in all four of his plate appearances Sunday, marking his first multi-hit effort in his last 12 starts. He still has a .274 average for the season, though his production has otherwise been empty -- he has just one home run, 23 RBI and 26 runs scored in 83 games.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Knocks in two runs
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Kiner-Falefa went 1-for-3 with a two-run single in Wednesday's 5-0 win over St. Louis.
Kiner-Falefa doubled the Pirates' lead in the seventh inning with a two-run single that brought Ke'Bryan Hayes and Tommy Pham home. Kiner-Falefa has recorded at least one hit in seven of his last eight games and has gone 8-for-27 (.296) with one steal and five RBI over that span.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Drives in pair in win
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Kiner-Falefa went 1-for-3 with two RBI in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the Cardinals.
Kiner-Falefa came through in a big spot, lining a two-run single in the seventh inning to extend the lead. The hit was his sixth in the past five games, and he continued a productive stretch in which the 30-year-old has gone 8-for-27 (.292) with a triple and five RBI over his last eight contests.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Kiner-Falefa will head to the bench after a run of 17 straight starts, during which he struggled to a .200/.237/.255 slash line at the plate. Jared Triolo will fill in at shortstop Sunday for the Buccos.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: On base twice in win
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Kiner-Falefa went 1-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and a walk Monday against the Brewers.
Kiner-Faelfa delivered the game-winning run on an RBI triple in the sixth inning, his first extra-base hit since June 10. He's had a tough month, going 13-for-64 with five RBI, one stolen base and one run scored across 20 games. Despite the struggles, Kiner-Falefa remains the Pirates' everyday shortstop.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Provides offensive spark in win
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored in Wednesday's 10-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Kiner-Falefa helped spark a late surge from the Pirates' offense, reaching base and scoring in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings. Since returning from the injured list May 12, the shortstop has slashed .327/.362/.473 with six extra-base hits, six RBI, nine runs scored and two steals. He's had a quietly productive season, slashing .297/.343/.381 with one home run, 13 RBI, 20 runs scored and eight steals across 167 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Belts home run in return
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Mets.
Kiner-Falefa slashed .302/.327/.377 with two stolen bases and three RBI in the 15 games prior to his stint on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. He picked up where he left off Monday, smashing a solo home run to left-center field off David Peterson in the second frame. Kiner-Falefa added a single in the sixth frame to log his seventh multi-hit game of the season, and he has a career-best .704 OPS over 113 plate appearances this year.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Reinstated from IL
Rotowire
The Pirates reinstated Kiner-Falefa (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Monday.
Kiner-Falefa was placed on the 10-day injured list May 1 due to a right hamstring strain. He quickly resumed baseball activities and was able to run the bases over the weekend, and he's recovered enough that a rehab assignment is not needed. Kiner-Falefa slashed .280/.333/.330 with six stolen bases and seven RBI prior to his injury, and he should be back in the Pirates' starting lineup against the Mets on Monday. Liover Peguero was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding move.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Resumes activity
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa (hamstring) has resumed baseball activity and is expected to run the bases this weekend, MLB.com reports.
Kiner-Falefa has been sidelined since early May with a right hamstring strain, though he was never expected to be out long. He's eligible to return Sunday, but he may need a few additional days before being activated.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Moved to injured list
Rotowire
The Pirates placed Kiner-Falefa on the injured list Saturday due to a right hamstring strain.
Kiner-Falefa hadn't played since Wednesday due to the injury, and the issue is serious enough to warrant a trip to the IL. With Kiner-Falefa out of action, Jared Triolo will likely take over as the team's everyday shortstop. The Pirates selected the contract of pitcher Tanner Rainey from Triple-A Indianapolis and moved pitcher Justin Lawrence (elbow) from the 15-day to the 60-day IL in corresponding transactions.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Remains out Saturday
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa (lower body) isn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against San Diego.
Kiner-Falefa will begin on the bench for a third consecutive contest as he continues do deal with a lower-body injury. It's not yet clear how much time the versatile veteran will miss, but at this point there's been no word of an extended absence. Jared Triolo will make a third straight start at shortstop in Kiner-Falefa's stead Saturday.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Not in Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa (lower body) is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Padres.
The 30-year-old was forced to the bench Thursday due to the lower-body issue after a run of nine straight starts, and he remains out of the starting nine Friday. Jared Triolo will receive another start at shortstop in place of Kiner-Falefa.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Friday that Kiner-Falefa has been dealing with a lower-body injury, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
It helps explain why Kiner-Falefa was not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Cubs. Consider the infielder day-to-day for the time being. With Kiner-Falefa banged up, Liover Peguero was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday as middle-infield protection.
Kiner-Falefa is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.
Kiner-Falefa had started each of the last nine games while batting .303 with a stolen base, three runs and two RBI, but he'll get a breather while Pittsburgh wraps up its series with Chicago with a day game after a night game. Jared Triolo will pick up a start at shortstop in place of Kiner-Falefa.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Not starting Saturday
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa is not in Pittsburgh's starting lineup against Cleveland on Saturday.
Kiner-Falefa has recorded at least one hit in five of his last six games, going 6-for-20 with one stolen base, two runs scored and one RBI over that span. He'll be in the dugout for the beginning of Saturday's game while Jared Triolo starts at shortstop and bats seventh against Guardians right-hander Ben Lively.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Production slowing
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-4 with a run scored Wednesday against the Nationals.
Kiner-Falefa has struggled at the plate after a relatively hot start to the year, as he has just four hits across his last 25 at-bats (eight games) after Wednesday's multi-hit effort. He's also slowed on the basepaths, failing to tally a stolen base since March 31 while being caught on his last two attempts.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Getting afternoon off
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Manager Derek Shelton will give Kiner-Falefa a breather as the Pirates wrap up their series with the Cardinals with a day game after a night game. The recently promoted Tsung-Che Cheng will make his MLB debut Wednesday, starting at shortstop in Kiner-Falefa's stead and batting ninth.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Late add to lineup
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa will start at shortstop and bat ninth Sunday against the Yankees after Jared Triolo (undisclosed) was scratched, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Kiner-Falefa was poised to receive his first day off this season but will instead take his usual post at shortstop. He's batting .321 (9-for-28) with no extra-base hits and four steals in 33 plate appearances.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Receiving first day off
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.
Kiner-Falefa will get his first day off this season after slashing .321/.424/.321 with four stolen bases, three runs and an RBI through Pittsburgh's first nine games. Jared Triolo will fill in for Kiner-Falefa at shortstop and as the Pirates' No. 9 hitter.
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Pirates' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Aggressive on basepaths early
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-3 with two walks and two stolen bases Saturday against the Marlins.
Kiner-Falefa was expected to lead off for a significant portion of spring, but he's instead hit ninth in all three of Pittsburgh's games. He's still found a way to be productive and has benefited from the team's aggressiveness on the basepaths by swiping three bases on three tries. Kiner-Falefa is likely to provide little other production, but he could be a streaming option for stolen bases.
