Travis Ishikawa seeing more playing time early

Pirates first baseman Travis Ishikawa is seeing more playing time than expected early in the season, according to MLB.com.

Ishikawa started his fourth consecutive game Friday night. The Pirates have played a bevy of right-handed starters recently, and Ishikawa has been getting the nod against them. While manager Clint Hurdle has been reluctant to say he's using Ishikawa as part of a straight platoon, it's starting to appear that way. Ishikawa would receive the bulk of the playing time in a traditional platoon, and could continue to see an increase in playing time depending on how he performs.