PITTSBURGH — The St. Louis Cardinals faced a tough moment during their narrow 1-0 defeat to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night when their first baseman, Willson Contreras, suffered a left hand contusion. Contreras was struck by a pitch from the Pirates’ ace, Paul Skenes, while leading off the fourth inning.
Despite the injury, Contreras remained in the game for the duration of the inning. However, he was thrown out at home plate by Pittsburgh’s left fielder Tommy Pham, as he made an attempt to score from second base following a single by Pedro Pages that ended the inning.
Fortunately, an X-ray of Contreras’ hand came back negative, but both the player and Cardinals manager, Oliver Marmol, expressed doubts about Contreras’ availability for the series finale against the Pirates on Wednesday.
To adjust for Contreras’ absence, Alec Burleson moved from left field to take over at first base, and Garrett Hampson filled the gap in left field.
This season, Contreras has a batting average of .248 over 82 games, along with 11 home runs and 51 RBIs. Memories from last season are still vivid for Contreras, as he suffered a season-ending injury on August 24 due to a fractured left middle finger after being hit by a pitch.
Reflecting on the incident, Contreras mentioned, “When I get hit in the arm or hand, I get a little worried. I think I’m going to be OK, just a day or two (off).”
The Cardinals will have a break on Thursday before they head to Chicago, where they are scheduled to start a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday.