Marte day to day with bruised right hand

PITTSBURGH -- Held out of the starting lineup with a bruised right hand, Starling Marte pinch-ran for Corey Hart in the seventh inning of the Pirates' 5-4 win over the Cubs on Thursday afternoon.

Marte was removed for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning of Wednesday night's 4-3 victory over Chicago, two innings after being hit on the right hand by a pitch from Cubs right-hander Jason Hammel.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle waited to see how Marte swung the bat in the batting cage before making a decision if Marte would be in center field with Andrew McCutchen slated to be off for a scheduled maintenance day.

"He received treatment earlier," said Hurdle. "I know he's received treatment and I know he's going to the cage to hit. We're going to wait on him and see what he's capable of doing."

After taking swings in the cage the Pirates opted not to start Marte. Sean Rodriguez got the nod in left while Gregory Polanco was in center.

After missing three games with a bruised chest, shorstop Jordy Mercer went 1-for-4 with an RBI.