Lucroy dealing with concussion symptoms

MIAMI -- Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy was sidelined in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Marlins by concussion symptoms, the result of a foul tip that struck the left side of his jaw during the seventh inning of Tuesday's loss to the Marlins.

Lucroy passed a series of cognitive tests after the game, but was still feeling "fuzzy" and unwell on Wednesday afternoon, so the Brewers started Nevin Ashley behind the plate. Ashley went 1-for-2 with an RBI double in his first MLB at-bat and a hit-by-pitch.

It was a logical choice, since Ashley, just called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday after completing his 10th Minor League season, had caught many of right-hander Ariel Pena's outings there. Pena, another September call-up, made his first Major League start on Wednesday and went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts in a no-decision.

The Brewers' other backup catcher, Martin Maldonado, was already scheduled to start Thursday's series opener in Pittsburgh.

"I think it's good they have safety measures now," Lucroy said.

Brewers director of medical operations Roger Caplinger was involved in writing Major League Baseball's concussion protocol, which was implemented before the 2011 season and put in place a procedure for evaluating players' readiness to return from a head injury while adding a new, seven-day disabled list.

Lucroy entered that protocol on Tuesday night and said he passed all of the vision and memory tests. But he cannot return to action for the Brewers until cleared by a doctor.

"Most likely a couple of days," manager Craig Counsell said.