Matt Holliday Day-to-Day with Hand Injury
By Editorial Staff
After being removed from last night’s game, the St. Louis Cardinals have confirmed that Matt Holliday will not be starting tonight’s regular season finale against the Houston Astros. Holliday had to leave Tuesday’s game due to pain in his right hand.
Holliday’s injury is related to his inflamed tendon that caused him to miss a week and a half of action earlier this month. Holliday told St. Louis’s training staff that he was experiencing discomfort in his hand before Tuesday’s game and went on to aggravate the injury during the contest.
The Cardinals would not say how long they expect Holliday to be out, but only confirm that he would not start Wednesday night. While Holliday may be available off St. Louis’s bench this evening, Allen Craig will make the start in his place.
This certainly couldn’t be coming at a worse time for the Cardinals. The club enters play Wednesday tied with the Atlanta Braves for the National League wild-card lead. Holliday is one of St. Louis’s best offensive threats, and will be missed Wednesday.
But Craig may have eased the blow of Holliday’s absence with his impressive performance last night. After replacing Holliday in the 3rd inning, Craig went 2-3 with a double, home run and four RBI’s.
While he is no Holliday, Craig has been a solid contributor for the Cardinals in 2011. On the year, Craig has hit at a clip of .313/.362/.544.
For more on the Cardinals, be sure to check out Redbird Rants.