Tight lat lands Cole on the disabled list

ST. LOUIS -- Following a disappointing pregame bullpen session, the Pirates on Monday placed Gerrit Cole on the disabled list with the tight lat that had forced his exit from Friday's start.

Brandon Cumpton, on the same pitching schedule as Cole, will be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and take Cole's turn on Wednesday against the Cardinals.

The move vexed Cole, who had just come off the DL on June 28 after missing three weeks with a fatigued shoulder.

"This is something completely different, so I guess it's encouraging that I didn't re-injure the same thing," Cole said. "But yeah, it's ridiculous. Coming off the DL and having to go back on is ... It wasn't a good day. But [the staff] convinced me it's the smart, right thing to do."

Cole pitched five sharp one-hit innings on Friday against the Phillies before making an abrupt departure with a sore latissimus dorsi, the widest muscle in the back.

Cole played some catch the following day at PNC Park, and that went well enough for him to be given the green light for Monday's routine side session, which became anything but routine.

"It responded decent the last couple of days, but getting on the mound and putting extra force into it ... It didn't feel good," he said. "I threw about 25, 26 pitches. Chris Stewart was catching me, and I asked him, 'Do I look like myself?' And he said, 'No. It just didn't look the same.'"

With the four-day All-Star break commencing next Monday, Cole could miss only one start both prior to and following the hiatus.

"We'll use the opportunity of the upcoming break to pass on this start," manager Clint Hurdle said, "and put him on a program to return to pitch. He wants to pitch, to compete. He's such an aggressive kid. The risk, I don't think, is worth the reward for this particular start."

Cumpton went 3-0 for the Bucs in five June starts, with an ERA of 2.97. With the Indians he is 4-1 in seven starts, with a 1.76 ERA.