Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole will not make his scheduled start Monday against the Chicago Cubs and instead will fly to Los Angeles on Sunday to have a sore elbow checked by a specialist, general manager Neal Huntington confirmed.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, which first reported the story, indicated the Pirates do not believe Cole has ligament damage in his throwing elbow.
Cole, 25, is 7-9 with a 3.55 ERA for the Pirates, who entered Saturday 2.5 games behind in the race for the final National League wild-card spot.
Cole spent more than a month on the disabled list earlier this season because of a strained right triceps. He returned in July.
In his last start, against the Houston Astros on Wednesday, Cole allowed five runs on seven hits, losing his third straight decision.