(Busch Stadium) After an early exit last night, a sore left elbow has kept Kolten Wong out of the St. Louis Cardinals starting lineup this afternoon.
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“Yeah, it’s still sore today,” shared Mike Matheny. “We’re going to be kind of a day-to-day thing as of right now. I think it scared him more than anything else when he felt a little bit of a pop. Once again, fortunate that it’s on his non-throwing arm, but still, going to have to get it right before we get him back in there.”
The issue occurred while Wong was taking his on-deck swings for his first at-bat last night. He finished the plate appearance, but Greg Garcia entered the game the top of that next inning.
Garcia will again handle the second base duties this afternoon.
After making his return from the disabled list last night, Stephen Piscotty will be on the bench this afternoon.
“Whenever you have a guy who’s been down for as a long as he was down, you’re going to kind of slow walk him into it a little bit,” explained Matheny. “Then by getting hit and trying to run through a wall, gave a good day for us to get Tommy Pham–we’re going to have to keep Tommy Pham engaged too. This guy’s been electric when he gets the opportunity, so trying to get creative. When we can get him in there I think is going to be a good challenge for us.”
Besides a pair of pinch-hits since his return from the disabled list, Jhonny Peralta starting at third base also allows the Cardinals give Jedd Gyorko a break.
“We’ve been riding Jedd pretty hard,” said Matheny. “We’ve had off-days, but he’s been a guy who’s been in there every single day. He’s been one of our best hitters and one of our most productive guys. When you can get him a little rest, we’re going to do it. And when the matchup doesn’t look great, it’s something that we’ll play close attention to.”
The start at third will be the first for Peralta since April 15th at New York against the Yankees.
photo credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
Garcia in for Wong today…#STLCards pic.twitter.com/S8VqxX472D
— Brian Stull (@StullySTL) May 21, 2017
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