RHP Ryan Vogelsong earned the victory for the Pirates on Friday night in Cincinnati. It was his first victory in a Pirates uniform since Sept. 14, 2005 at St. Louis.

RHP Ryan Vogelsong will go to the bullpen, and RHP Juan Nicasio will be in the Pirates' rotation."It's a hard decision. You've got a guy (Vogelsong) that's got experience," manager Clint Hurdle said. "I told Ryan this wasn't about him not performing well. He came to spring training and tracked things out that he wanted to do."It was about another guy pitching the most effective we've ever seen him pitch and trying to leverage that opportunity for him. This might be a window of opportunity for Juan Nicasio to get back into play."

RHP Ryan Vogelsong was signed to a one-year contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday. The deal is worth $2 million, plus a possible $3 million in incentives, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. The 38-year-old Vogelsong pitched for the Pirates from the middle of the 2001 season through 2006 before playing for the San Francisco Giants the past five seasons. Vogelsong was an All-Star in 2011 when he finished 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA, but he has not been as successful the past three years. He posted a 9-11 record with a 4.67 ERA in 33 games, including 22 starts, in 2015.

Vogelsong entered Monday's game as a reliever, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Vogelsong is listed as the starter for Tuesday's game, but he'll apparently be scratched, and the team is yet to announce a replacement. The right-hander was shelled for eight runs in his last start, though the motive behind the move to use him as a reliever is unknown.

Vogelsong (9-11) was bombed for eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits over three innings in Thursday's 11-3 loss to the Rockies. Before exiting, he did supply most of the offense for the Giants on the night, hitting a two-run homer.

Vogelsong has failed to escape the fifth inning in three consecutive turns, taking the loss on each occasion. He's at least been a useful streaming option at AT&T Park, where he's gone 3-3 with a 3.29 ERA and .224 batting average against in 54.2 innings, but with his next start set to come in another bandbox in Arizona, dropping him may be a prudent move at this stage of the season.

Vogelsong turned in another short, ineffective performance Saturday, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks over 4.2 innings while striking out three.

He's gotten out of the fifth inning just once in his last five starts, and the only thing keeping Vogelsong in the rotation right now is Matt Cain's sore elbow. Don't expect any kind of turnaround in his next start, when the Giants travel to Coors Field on Thursday.

Vogelsong was ineffective on Sunday, giving up three runs on seven hits and four walks through 3.1 innings of work in a loss to the Pirates.

In his previous 15 innings spanning over three starts, Vogelsong had allowed just four runs on 11 hits and six walks, so Sunday's performance was a bit surprising. All of the damage came in the first inning, as the Pirates pushed across three runs with three singles, two walks and a sac-fly. While he didn't allow any more runs, Vogelsong labored through 77 pitches, finally getting removed in favor of Yusmeiro Petit midway through the fourth inning. The 38-year-old will look to bounce back when he takes on the Cardinals this Saturday.

Vogelsong figures to stick in the Giants' rotation going forward following the demotion of Chris Heston.

There was some thought that he would be moved back to the bullpen when Mike Leake was activated from the DL, but Vogelsong will instead be rewarded for his excellent performance and get to continue pitching every fifth day. He has given up just two runs over his last two starts and has a 2.88 ERA at home this season, making a worthy streaming candidate in almost all formats when he is starting in San Francisco.

Vogelsong improved to 9-8 Tuesday against St. Louis behind six shutout innings, as he allowed just two hits and a walk. He struck out five.

Vogelsong is expected to cede his position in the rotation to Mike Leake as soon as Leake is recovered from a hamstring injury. That should still be the expected case even after Vogelsong's great outing, but at the very least the Giants will be less inclined to rush Leake back. Vogelsong's last quality start came June 24 against the Padres.

Vogelsong will start Tuesday against the Cardinals, CSN Bay Area reports.

With Mike Leake (hamstring) not quite ready to return from the DL, Vogelsong will be afforded another start, his third of the second half. Vogelsong fanned a season-high eight batters over five innings his last time out, but he's struggled mightily on the road (5.19 ERA), and will likely transition back to a bullpen role once Leake is ready to go.

Vogelsong (8-8) allowed one run on three hits, struck out eight and walked four over five innings in Thursday's win over the Nationals.

Vogelsong outdueled Stephen Strasburg for his first victory in five starts since June 24, though it didn't start off so well. Yunel Escobar sent Vogelsong's first pitch of the night over the wall in left-center before Vogelsong settled in and shut out the Nationals through the fifth inning. The 38-year-old walked four, giving him 48 for the season -- 7th in the NL.

Vogelsong allowed three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out six over four-plus innings of a 7-3 loss to the Cubs on Friday afternoon.

Vogelsong (7-8, 4.26 ERA) was cruising through four innings, having allowed just a single run in the first inning. However, he allowed the first two hitters to reach in the fifth, and a pair of relievers let those two both score (as well as three others) as the Cubs broke the game open. He was filling in for the injured Mike Leake, but Leake is expected back soon so his tenure in the rotation is likely to be short-lived.

Vogelsong will start Friday's game against the Cubs with Mike Leake suffering a hamstring string.

While Vogelsong escaping the bullpen for a day helps his value, it's likely to be his only start without another injury or Leake missing much more time than expected. San Francisco has an off day Monday, which would allow them to skip Leake's spot in the rotation if he needs more time and still give their pitchers normal rest.

Vogelsong (7-6) made his first regular season bullpen appearance since 2006 on Friday, tossing two scoreless innings and picking up his seventh win of the season.

Vogelsong was pushed out of the rotation due to the return of veterans Matt Cain, Tim Hudson, and Jake Peavy. His results as a starter had been sub-par over the course of the year, so it was no surprise that he was bumped in favor of more reliable options. He could reinvent himself - yet again - as a solid long reliever, but that role gives him little to no value from a fantasy perspective.

Vogelsong will assume a role out of the bullpen to start the second half of the season, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' rotation to begin the second half will be Matt Cain, Jake Peavy, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Hudson, and Chris Heston. Vogelsong will work out of the bullpen for the time being after posting a 4.00 ERA with a 1.256 WHIP in 16 starts this season. His walk rate of four batters per nine innings is his worst since 2005 as a reliever with the Pirates.

Vogelsong (6-6) allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in 5.2 innings against the Phillies on Saturday, striking out three in a no-decision.

San Francisco's offense put up seven runs against the Phillies bullpen to save Vogelsong from a potential loss after he exited trailing 4-1. Vogelsong has done himself no favors lately, allowing nine runs in 15.2 innings over his last three starts, and the 37-year-old is walking almost four batters per nine innings in what has been a disappointing season to date. The All-Star break couldn't come at a better time for Vogelsong, as it will him a chance to put his recent struggles behind him heading into the second half. Vogelsong is 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA in two starts against the Phillies this year, so there may not be any matchup in which owners can trust him at the moment.

Vogelsong allowed one run on three hits and three walks in just four innings Sunday against the Nationals. He did not factor into the decision.

The veteran didn't have his best stuff Sunday, as he threw just 44 of his 71 pitches for strikes in the abbreviated outing. Vogelsong has been a little erratic lately, sandwiching a pair of shutout victories in between four poor outings, and will look to bounce back Saturday with a favorable matchup against the Phillies.

Vogelsong fell to 6-6 after allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings in a loss Tuesday against Miami. He struck out four.

Vogelsong gave up at least four runs for the sixth time in 16 starts. He also has three shutout starts of at least six innings. Vogelsong's numbers are mediocre (4.19 ERA, 63:36 K:BB), but he may have additional value in formats that reward the occasional great start over steady consistency.

Vogelsong (6-5) threw six scoreless innings, striking out four and giving up five hits and two walks in Wednesday's win over the Padres.

Vogelsong picked up his second straight win, back-to-back shutouts against the Mariners and the Padres. After an excellent May in which he went 4-0 with a 1.14 ERA, Vogelsong struggled to start off the month of June but is now on a scoreless streak of 12.2 innings. He'll look to add to that streak in his next scheduled start Tuesday at Miami.

Vogelsong (5-5) struck out six and gave up three singles and two walks in 6.2 scoreless innings in Thursday's win over the Mariners.

Vogelsong rebounded from a rough outing with his best start in almost a month, though it came against the offensively challenged Mariners, who were held to two runs or less for the 26th time in 67 games. After going 4-0 in five starts in May with a 1.14 ERA, Vogelsong was 0-3 with a 6.61 ERA in his first three starts in June. He'll look to build on his solid performance Thursday when he faces off against the Padres on Wednesday in his next scheduled start.