Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
The St. Louis Cardinals may have taken a massive step in their quest to take the NL Central crown from the suddenly-slipping Pittsburgh Pirates by taking the first game of a key three-game series against the divisional rival Bucs, but what the redbirds lost in the same game is no doubt just as big of a step back.
Well, at least that’s what it may have looked like when outfielder Matt Holliday had to exit the game with an ankle sprain in the 10th inning of the 14-inning marathon between the two teams on Tuesday.
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Fortunately, it looks as though a step back is all it’ll be for the Cardinals, who may have avoided serious disaster as X-ray results on the slugger’s ankle turned out to be negative, allowing fans of the already Yadier Molina-less team to breath a collective sigh of relief.
That said, St. Louis is by no means out of the wood works yet.
Although Holliday — who just returned from the DL at the end of July — is unlikely to miss significant time, the fact that he’s suffered what is being considered a day-to-day injury in the middle of a key series between the Cards and Bucs is not what you’d call the most fortuitous timing. Losers of two straight series headed into this mid-week showdown at 4-6, the Cardinals needed to take advantage of the Bucs’ own slump to get back on even ground.
Shorthanded as it is, there’s no doubt about the impact that the 33-year-old veteran has had (and will have) in keeping this team in it.
Holliday has hit in 11 of 12 games played in August thus far, with five straight multi-hit performances including the one on Tuesday that led to his untimely exit. He is leading the team is virtually all batting categories this month with an incredible .439/.549/.659 OPS, and with 1.0 fWAR in just 12 games this month, he is tied for fourth in MLB among all of his peers.
So, it’s fair to say that losing him for even one or two games, especially against a flagging Pirates team that the Cardinals need to take advantage of (if only to get out of their own slump), could turn out to be the difference-maker by the time the end of the season rolls around.
Any more time than that, and the Cards might just have their work cut out for them to hold on to their lead on the first Wild Card spot.
