St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter suffered a finger injury during Thursday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds.
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Carpenter Removed from Game
Thursday, June 9
Carpenter jammed his finger during an at-bat in the sixth inning of Thursday night's game. Manager Mike Matheny took him out of the game because he didn't know if Carpenter would be able to make the throws from third base to first, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The team has not disclosed the severity of Carpenter's injury or a timetable for his return.
Heading into Thursday night, Carpenter was one of the Cardinals' most productive hitters, as he was batting .280 with nine home runs and 39 RBI.
He is a two-time All-Star who led the National League in hits during the 2013 season with 199, giving him a career-high .318 average. But his game has evolved since then. While his average has dropped, he has seen his power numbers spike.
Carpenter slugged a career-high 28 home runs last season, 17 more than his previous best from 2013. He also added a career-high 84 RBI and 44 doubles, which led the league.
Fox Sports' Dave Cameron delved into the evolution of Carpenter's play:
Previously, Carpenter would yank one over the fence if you threw him a centered-fastball. This year, though, he's hitting fastballs up in the zone, plus hanging breaking balls and two-seamers running in on the inside corner. Carpenter has never really hit the inside pitch with authority before, but likely at the encouragement of his teammates, he has learned to turn on pitches inside and is now more willing to go after high-risk/high-reward pitches up in the zone.
His durability has been another invaluable asset to the Cardinals. In each of the past three seasons, Carpenter has played in at least 154 games.
Now with Carpenter on the shelf, the Cardinals will have to try to replace his output at the top of their lineup, especially in the power department. First baseman Brandon Moss will have to continue pacing the team in power, as he leads the team with 13 home runs.
In the National League Central, where the Chicago Cubs have made an early claim as to why they're the team to beat, the Cardinals will need a full lineup and their best hitter if they want to keep up with their rivals, so they can't afford to lose Carpenter for an extended period of time.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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