CHICAGO — Francisco Cervelli was removed in the fourth inning as a precaution after being struck on the jaw with a foul tip against the Cubs Saturday at Wrigley Field.
The potential injury occurred in the third inning when Jason Heyward hit a foul ball that struck Cervelli on his left shoulder and ricocheted to strike him on his left side of his face mask. Cervelli remained in the game and grounded out to lead off the fourth inning before he was replaced by Elias Diaz.
Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates' director of sports medicine, told reporters after the Pirates' 2-0 loss that Cervelli was still being evaluated by the team's medical staff.
"As you saw, it did pretty much simultaneously hit his left shoulder and then the left side of his face mask," Tomczyk said. "He's still being examined by the team physician here and our medical staff, so there's no new information to report at this time."
Following the foul ball, Cervelli removed his mask and appeared dazed, moving his jaw while shaking his head slowly back and forth. Bryan Housand, the Pirates' head athletic trainer, and Clint Hurdle checked on him, but he remained in the game to finish the bottom of the third.
Cervelli, 32, entered Saturday with the highest OPS and on-base percentage among major league catchers. He's hit a career-high nine home runs and has driven in 34 runs. While the Pirates have scuffled, Cervelli has continued to thrive both at the plate and in the field, positioning himself to potentially receive his first All-Star nod.
Cervelli was placed on the concussion disabled list last season after taking a foul tip off the mask on June 7 in Baltimore.