St. Louis Cardinals: Stephen Piscotty Exits Game After a Wild Fifth Inning

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Stephen Piscotty exited Tuesday night’s game early after a wild fifth inning on the base paths.

The St. Louis Cardinals announced a six-year contract extension for Stephen Piscotty on Monday, making it clear they see him as an integral part of the organization’s future. One can only imagine the tension among the Cardinals Brass while Piscotty was struck by the ball three times in one inning.

In the fifth, Stephen stepped into the batters box to face Cubs ace Jake Arrieta for the second time. After working the count to 3-1, Arrieta hit him in the right elbow with a change up, and then things got weird.

With two outs and Kolten Wong at the plate, Arrieta lost control of a curve ball, and Piscotty tried to take second as the ball got away from Willson Contreras. Willson came up throwing though and pegged Piscotty—this time on the left elbow—as he slid into second.

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Three pitches later, Wong hit a grounder with some life to it up the right side. Javier Baez bobbled it and recovered quickly, yet he still he didn’t have time to get the speedy Wong. In a heads up play, Piscotty never slowed down as he rounded third and continued towards home. Baez had to rush his throw, and as a result, it plunked Piscotty in the left ear plate of the helmet as he slid into home.

Poor Stephen indeed. Piscotty lay motionless on the ground for several seconds, and he didn’t get up for quite some time. Members of the medical staff rushed out to tend to the 26-year-old, and he left the game due to a head contusion.

Stephen was eventually able to stand up, and it appears he’s going to be fine—at least according to manager Mike Matheny:

"“The trainers asked him a lot of questions,’’ Matheny said. “He answered all of them fine” …“We won’t jump into any conclusions, but he seems fine.’’"

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For a brief moment, I—and probably many others—feared the worst. The throw was an absolute rocket, and it careened off Piscotty’s helmet like it was a brick wall. Thankfully, it seems as if he’ll be okay. Piscotty will be re-evaluated today. Shout out to Rawlings.