Cozart out of starting lineup for second straight game

CINCINNATI -- A sore left wrist kept Reds shortstop Zack Cozart out of the starting lineup against the Braves again on Tuesday, his second straight game out of action and his fifth out of the last eight.

Reds manager Bryan Price does not believe that Cozart will have to go on the disabled list.

"Not at this point in time," Price said. "We haven't gotten that type of feedback from Dr. [Tim] Kremchek. He could be in there [Wednesday]. That's where we are. He's been getting some treatment. I was certainly hoping there would be more improvement from yesterday to today, and there wasn't. We'll make sure we check all avenues to make sure there isn't something more significant."

Cozart did appear as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning of Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Braves, laying down a bunt and reaching on a throwing error by Atlanta starter Mike Foltynewicz.

Video: ATL@CIN: Cozart reaches after Foltynewicz's error

Cozart missed an entire three-game series at Pittsburgh with a bruised right index finger and a sore left wrist that was struck by a fastball thrown by Braves pitcher Julio Teheran on May 3.

When he returned on Saturday against the White Sox, Cozart went 5-for-10 in that three-game series. On Monday, he was a late scratch from the lineup and limited to pinch-running duty only.

"He played three games in two days without incident and in his last at-bat, he smokes a double off [White Sox closer David] Robertson and everything is looking great," Price said. "It wasn't until he came in the next day and had to swing the bat and field groundballs where it had come back."

Video: CIN@CWS: Cozart ties game with two-run double in 9th

Utility player Kristopher Negron started all five games at shortstop that Cozart missed, and has done a very nice job making the plays defensively.

"I've been playing shortstop since I was a kid in high school, and then in college and coming up in the Minor Leagues," Negron said. "Being able to fill in for a Gold Glove [finalist] shortstop like Cozart, I'm just trying to go out there and handle every groundball."

"From what everyone in our system told me over the last couple of years was that shortstop was his best position," Price said. "Of course with Cozart at short, you don't have a lot of opportunity to play short. But he's been wonderful."