For now, it appears that Matt Carpenter has avoided the ever-growing injured list for the St. Louis Cardinals. The third baseman exited Saturday’s game in the 6th inning of the team’s 5-1 victory over Milwaukee as a precaution due to left hip tightness.
“Yeah, just tight,” confirmed Carpenter. “Had trainers took a look at it and said that I had some blockage and something that kind of fired up, but nothing serious but I could’ve kept playing and feel like I could play tomorrow but we’ll see what happens.”
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“Matt typically wouldn’t come out for what he felt had he not already had a few at-bats and we had an opportunity to just be very proactive and cautious,” said Mike Matheny.
The tightness developed while Carpenter was at the plate.
“There was a take during my last at-bat where I just felt something kind of grab me and then kind of tighten up on me he last swing I took, but ran down to first base fine,” he said.
“We did some things in there, some treatment, already that has kind of relieved it,” added Carpenter, who’s situation was not deemed serious enough to undergo and MRI.
“By the time I came up the steps into the clubhouse, he was already lobbying that he’s fine and wants to play,” said Matheny. “I imagine he’s gonna continue to push that and we’ll just continue to get a look at him and see what we see.”
GARCIA WINS 10th
–Lefty Jaime Garcia improved to 10-5 on the season with Saturday’s win as he threw eight innings and allowed just the one run.
“To me, it’s more important it’s a big win for the team,” said Garcia, who sees similarities between how the 2011 team and this year’s squad are approaching things.
“Obviously, a lot of the leadership we have this year from the guys that have been around are keeping things loose,” he said. “They’re talking a lot to the young guys about how to go about it. It’s very similar. I feel like every single night somebody steps up and gets the job done–that’s exactly what we did in 2011. It’s always something–whether it’s a bullpen, a young guy, a guy who’s been around. That’s what makes us who we are, but at the same time we have to continue to do the same thing and win this division first.”
It was the seventh time this season Garcia went six or more innings without issuing a walk. He also struck out eight batters, his second-highest total of the season.
photo credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
