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Dickerson lands on DL

PITTSBURGH — Austin Meadows returned to the Pirates on Saturday.

So did Jose Osuna, as the team placed outfielder Corey Dickerson and first baseman Josh Bell on the 10-day disabled list.

Dickerson’s assignment is backdated to Wednesday, the first game he sat out after straining his left hamstring while running down the line in a game against Cleveland.

Bell has a strained left oblique muscle, an injury he sustained while taking a swing against the New York Mets on Friday.

Osuna started at first base and batted fifth. Jordan Luplow again took Dickerson’s place in left field and batted sixth.

The only good medical news for the Pirates was the return of center fielder Starling Marte, who was back after missing two games because of a hand injury. Marte was hit by a pitch on Wednesday in Cleveland.

Marte said he was ready to play on Friday and was disappointed when he didn’t.

“You could see his angst,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Good to have him back, for sure.”

Bell immediately left Friday’s game after his injury. He’s been one of the Pirates’ most durable players in his two-plus seasons.

Osuna is with the Pirates for the fourth time this season. In those stays, he has batted .196 with two home runs and seven runs batted in over 46 at-bats.

Osuna was hitting .317 at Indianapolis with five home runs and 40 RBIs.

When Meadows was sent back to Indianapolis on July 15, he was batting .298 with five home runs, 13 RBIs and an OPS of .810 over 151 at-bats with the Pirates.

Meadows batted .231 in 10 games after he went back to Indianapolis.

If Osuna plays today, he will have been in four games in 48 hours. Indianapolis played a doubleheader Friday night.

Spot duty

In addition to having two regulars on the disabled list. Hurdle is also monitoring playing time for a couple of other players.

The Pirates are watching Francisco Cervelli as he returns from another stretch on the concussion disabled list. They’re also paying attention to Josh Harrison, who injured a hamstring before the All-Star break.

Cervelli started Saturday’s game. Harrison sat, and Adam Frazier played second base and hit leadoff.

Hurdle said his plan for Cervelli is a work in progress.

“We have some guidelines that we’re going to work with Francisco,” Hurdle said. “We need to be aware of the job that (Elias) Diaz has done coming in and one of the better secrets is this kid is hitting cleanup for us every now and then and doing a pretty good job. We’ll figure it out. There may be some gnashing of teeth along the way, but we’ll figure it out.”

Freese sits

David Freese had a big game for the Pirates Friday night, but Hurdle was adamant that he wouldn’t start the 35-year-old Freese for a sixth consecutive game.

“With the way we’re rolling right now, I don’t want to push it,” Hurdle said.

“We have an off day coming up on Monday and we’ll see what tomorrow provides. This is the longest stretch that he’s had to cover. The way he’s going right now, I prefer to be smart with it.”

Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com

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