St. Louis Cardinals: Stephen Piscotty to DL; Tommy Pham Recalled

Thursday night, St. Louis Cardinals outfielders Stephen Piscotty and Dexter Fowler had to leave the game because of injuries.

The sting of a homestand-ending loss to the Milwaukee Brewers hurt even more for the St. Louis Cardinals when, by the end of the game, they were without two-thirds of their starting outfield.

Right fielder Stephen Piscotty had to leave the game in the second inning when he pulled up after crossing first base trying to beat out a ground ball. He was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain after the game.

Center fielder Dexter Fowler exited an inning later as he strained his shoulder on a diving attempt on a fly ball in the left-center field gap.

After the game, Piscotty didn’t seem too concerned about his injury:

"“I just got it checked out, had the MRI and (it’s a) very, very mild muscle spasm. We’re going to re-evaluate it in the morning and go from there. But everything is very encouraging after the fact.”"

However this morning, the Cardinals placed him on the 10-day Disabled List. Outfielder Tommy Pham replaces him on the 25-man roster.

The team is still awaiting news on Fowler’s shoulder. Depending on the severity of the strain, it could keep him out longer than Piscotty’s hamstring. The Cardinals have yet to make a roster move regarding Fowler, so it appears he’ll at least begin the series against the Atlanta Braves on the active roster until the organization gets further word on the injury.

Both Fowler and Piscotty were off to slow starts this season. The new center fielder is hitting just .223 through the team’s first twenty-seven games, although he’s hit .319 in his last twelve games. During that span, he also hit all four of his home runs on the season and drove in all nine of the runs he’s batted in this season. He hit a two-run triple before having to leave the game Thursday.

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Piscotty on the other hand, sits at a .241 batting average with two home runs and eleven runs knocked in. Thursday night was the first time all season he hit second in the lineup. In his last eight games, he’s hit .296.

The injuries to Fowler and Piscotty hurt the Cardinals because they now have two spots to fill in the outfield for the time being. A look at their offensive numbers also suggests that perhaps they were just beginning to turn the corner at the plate.

Pham will see a fair amount of playing time with Piscotty sidelined for the next ten days. That will only increase if Fowler is out for an extended period of time as well.

The 29-year old outfielder was expected to begin the season on the Cardinals’ roster as the fourth outfielder, but was edged by Jose Martinez. At Triple-A Memphis this season, he’s hitting .283 with eight doubles, four home runs, and nineteen runs batted in, in 25 games.

Pham spent portions of the 2014, 2015, and 2016 seasons in St. Louis. He now gets his fourth opportunity in the big leagues. He’s a .245 career hitter in the major leagues, and 43% of his hits have gone for extra bases.

Next: Looking At the May Schedule

Stay with us as we bring you the latest news on Dexter Fowler’s status as well as Stephen Piscotty’s rehab. On a side note, third baseman

Jhonny Peralta

begins a rehab assignment with class-A Palm Beach in Florida tonight. He could rejoin the major league club when the Cardinals visit Miami for a series against the Marlins next week.