25 Gregory Polanco RF

Polanco is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Tigers.

Polanco will head to the bench for the second game of Wednesday's twin bill after going 1-for-4 with a walked and a run scored in Game 1. Jose Osuna, who is serving as the team's 26th man Wednesday, will start in right field and hit sixth in his stead.

Polanco went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Phillies.

The Pirates as a team only managed six hits on the night, preventing Polanco from capitalizing on his first multi-hit game in over a week. The 26-year-old has been unlucky on balls in play so far, but he's walking at a career-high clip so far and could be poised for a breakout once his batting average begins to rise.

Polanco will bat second and start in right field Friday despite slashing .150/.268/.400 in his last 71 plate appearances.

Pittsburgh continues to bat him second in the lineup despite a 1-for-23 slide from the No. 2 spot exclusively over the last six games. The team sat Polanco on Wednesday, but the rest did him little good against the Phillies and red-hot starter Jake Arrieta. The outfielder went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Thursday.

Polanco is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Rockies.

With a lefty (Kyle Freeland) on the mound for Colorado and the Pirates playing a day game after a night game, manager Clint Hurdle decided it was an ideal time to give Polanco a day off after nine consecutive starts. Adam Frazier will substitute in for Polanco in right field and bat leadoff.

Polanco, who went 1-for-5 against the Marlins on Sunday, is batting .180 in 50 at-bats since Opening Day.

He does have four homers and 11 RBI over that span, but holds a 1:10 BB:K in the last six games. Combine the contact issues with a .138 BABIP in 12 games prior to Sunday and it's easy to see why Polanco has struggled. The right fielder has started each of the last seven games and could be due for a break in the near future.