Matt Carpenter will have to miss the All-Star Game. Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Shortstop Aledmys Diaz was added to the National League All-Star roster the day after St. Louis Cardinals teammate Matt Carpenter left a game against Pittsburgh with a strained right oblique injury.
Carpenter left Wednesday night’s game with a strained right oblique muscle and the team was awaiting the results of an MRI.
Carpenter missed about a month with a similar injury four years ago and while coach Mike Matheny didn’t offer an immediate timeline for Carpenter’s return, he acknowledged it can be a difficult injury to overcome.
“I’ve felt that injury. I’ve seen it. It can be tough,” Matheny said after Wednesday’s game.
Carpenter, who clutched his side after a check-swing in the third inning, entered the game leading the National League in on-base percentage (.421) and OPS (.991).
“I know we have guys who can jump in and do it. The test is the fact we’re just not playing the kind of baseball we want to play. That’s it,” Matheny said. “We’re going to have guys go down. You never want to see it happen, you want to get them back as quick as you can, but when it happens, somebody else has to step up.”
The Cardinals have lost their past three games to fall to 43-41 on the season, nine games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and three games out of the final Wild Card spot.
National League All-Star manager Terry Collins of the New York Mets decided to add Diaz in Carpenter’s place. As a rookie, Diaz is batting .319 with 12 home runs, 44 RBIs, 22 doubles, 54 runs scored, a .382 on-base percentage and a .534 slugging percentage. The 25-year-old ranks sixth in the National League in doubles and runs scored and seventh in runs scored.
