Jose Tabata returned to action on Monday May 28.

Jose Tabata (leg) is back in the Bucs' lineup Monday. Tabata was removed from Sunday's game after experiencing cramps in his left leg. He felt much improved when he arrived at PNC Park on Monday.

Jose Tabata left Sunday's game with discomfort and cramping in his left leg. It's likely just a precautionary move. Tabata should be OK in a day or so.

Jose Tabata returned to the Pirates' lineup. Tabata was benched for not running out a ground ball on Friday, but returned to the lineup as expected. He's starting in right field and batting leadoff.

Jose Tabata was benched Friday for not running out a ground ball. "We've seen it happen a couple of times," manager Clint Hurdle said. "They understand here that when that happens, there's something else that's going to happen: You're going to sit with me and watch." It sounds like the one-game benching for Tabata is team protocol. He'll likely be back in the lineup Saturday.

Jose Tabata went 3-for-5 with a double and a steal against the Cardinals on Thursday. Tabata didn't have a multihit game while hitting .111 in his first 10 appearances of the season, but he's had five in 11 games since, raising his average to 244 in the process.

Jose Tabata went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI in Sunday's loss to the Braves. After taking a .111/.158/.111 triple slash into Pittsburgh's April 20 game against the Cardinals, Tabata has been steadily heating up, going 11-for-29 (.379) in his past seven games. With the worst apparently behind him, the time to take a flier is now if a frustrated owner dropped Tabata at the apex of his slump.

Jose Tabata is not in the Pirates' lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Rockies. Nate McLouth will make the start in right field and bat ninth against right-hander Jhoulys Chacin. Tabata went 1-for-4 in the first game and is now hitting an even .200 (11-for-55) on the year.

Jose Tabata went 2-for-4 with a double in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals. Incredibly, the two-hit day was just Tabata's second of the season, while the extra-base hit was his first. The silver lining is that his other two-knock performance came on Friday, so it's possible he might finally be heating up. As it is, however, he's bringing an abysmal .170/.220/.191 triple slash into the season's third full week.

Jose Tabata went 0-for-4 in Monday's loss, dropping his average to .118. It's even worse than the .118 average suggests: Tabata doesn't have a single walk, extra-base hit, run scored or RBI on the season. We'd suggest dropping him in the lineup for a bit until he gets it going, but everyone else besides the Pirates' No. 1 and No. 3 hitters is batting under .200 as well.