Cards to Lose Pair to DL

The St. Louis Cardinals appear set to lose two key components of their NL Central leading squad.  The club has already placed pitcher Kyle McClellan on their 15 day disabled list, and seem to be in the process of making the same move with outfielder Matt Holliday.

McClellan strained his hip flexor muscle Monday, and Holliday is still feeling the effects of a left quad injury that caused him to miss time earlier this season.

In the first inning of his most recent start, McClellan landed awkwardly, causing the injury to his hip flexor.  He struggled through 4 innings, giving up a season high 7 earned runs.

In his first season as a starter for the Cardinals, McClellan has been very effective.  He’s gone 6-2 for the club, and even with Monday’s start he’s maintained an ERA of 3.86.

The injury could be a bit of a blessing in disguise for the team, as innings were becoming an issue for McClellan.  As he’s moved from reliever to starter, the 26 year old is approaching his major league career mark for innings pitched (75.2) and we’re only in June.

Cards GM John Mozeliak detailed the teams’ thoughts while speaking with STLtoday.com.

"“We don’t want to put too much stress on him,” Mozeliak said. “At some point we were going to slow him down anyway. This is just a nice opportunity to do that. Let him get 100 percent, and lower his inning count.”"

Holliday’s quad kept him out of the Cardinals starting lineup for 6 games in late May.  He appeared to recover and was able to return this Monday, only to be a late scratch Tuesday evening.

Leading the NL with a batting average of .342, Holliday has been a major contributor to a St. Louis team that’s been one of the league’s best offensive clubs.

AAA pitcher Lance Lynn has been recalled to take McClellan’s roster spot.  Lynn will take the mound Thursday when the Cardinals wrap up their series with the San Francisco Giants.

Because Holliday has not officially been moved to St. Louis’s DL, a roster replacement has not been announced.  Allen Craig and Jon Jay are the likely candidates to fill in for the slugger.  Thought they’re not Holliday they would seem solid stand-ins, as each is currently batting over .330.