ST. LOUIS -- Hours before the Pirates and Cardinals took the field on Friday night, a few of Pittsburgh’s prominent injured players took part in a simulated game at Busch Stadium.

Right-hander Chris Archer (thumb inflammation) threw 60 pitches over four innings as he faced outfielders Corey Dickerson (strained shoulder) and Lonnie Chisenhall (strained calf) along with catcher Elias Diaz. Archer said he threw all of his pitches and didn’t experience any issues gripping the ball.

“Everything felt fine. No pitch was affected. Body feels good,” said Archer, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 27. “I’m not sure exactly where we go from here, but I’m ready to pitch five days from now in a big league game.”

The simulated game was an important step for Archer, who wanted to test his thumb by facing hitters for the first time since an April 26 outing against the Dodgers, in which he allowed six runs over four innings.

“It was about the volume and intensity,” Archer said. “Throwing a bullpen at 60 pitches and throwing 60 pitches to hitters, it’s two totally different things -- especially good ones like I faced today with Corey, Chisenhall and Diaz.”

Manager Clint Hurdle said the Pirates will reassess Archer on Saturday before finalizing the right-hander’s next step. If Archer is cleared to rejoin the rotation, he would be on turn to start for the Pirates on Wednesday at Chase Field.

Chisenhall came away impressed with Archer’s performance.

“He was sharp,” Chisenhall said. “He looks like the guy I faced before, so that’s a good sign.”

Meanwhile, Chisenhall is scheduled to run the bases this weekend, which means he is nearly ready for another Minor League rehab assignment. Chisenhall was not ready for Opening Day due to a fractured right index finger, and a strained left calf prematurely ended his initial rehab assignment.

“It’s tough watching the guys play, but there’s no sulking,” Chisenhall said. “The game continues to move, whether you’re out on the field or not. Nose to the grindstone, keeping it going. Just looking to come back and help where I can help.”

Dickerson, out since April 4 with a right posterior shoulder strain, has resumed hitting and playing catch.

Around the horn
• Colin Moran started at third base on Friday for the seventh time in the Pirates’ last nine games. Jung Ho Kang entered Friday hitless in 22 at-bats dating back to April 26. The Pirates are looking for favorable matchups for Kang, so he could start on Saturday against Miles Mikolas, who Kang homered off on April 3.

Although Kang’s numbers have plummeted, the Pirates believe he is showing some signs of a turnaround. After striking out 28 times in 81 plate appearances in April, Kang has two strikeouts (and two walks) in 16 plate appearances this month. Kang has flied out or lined out to left field in five of his last seven at-bats, which may be a sign that he’s close to tapping into his pull-side power.

“When you run into those situations, you tell a guy, ‘Hey, we’re making progress,’” Hurdle said. “We continue to show him some indicators that are positive, because if you get connected to a base hit only, the game can become miserable. There are some indicators that show, you know what, there are some trending things that are getting better.”

• Right fielder Gregory Polanco was out of the starting lineup on Friday after hitting a home run, doubling twice and drawing a walk on Thursday night. Polanco is healthy, but the Pirates are monitoring his workload because he returned earlier than expected from September shoulder surgery. Melky Cabrera started in right field, and rookie Bryan Reynolds got the nod in left.

• Pittsburgh’s bullpen covered 15 innings in three days prior to Friday night’s game at Busch Stadium, but the Bucs decided it was not necessary to call up another fresh arm behind starter Trevor Williams. Right-handers Clay Holmes and Dovydas Neverauskas were unavailable after pitching in Thursday’s 17-4 loss.

• The Pirates officially outrighted outfielder JB Shuck to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday after being designated for assignment last Saturday. Pittsburgh also traded Triple-A outfielder Patrick Kivlehan, who was in Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, to Toronto.