10:38pm: Wong has a mild hamstring strain, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. He’ll undergo an MRI on Friday.
8:29pm: The NL Central-leading Cardinals suffered a notable injury during their game against the Cubs on Thursday. Second baseman Kolten Wong departed with a left hamstring issue, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report. He’s day-to-day. The Cardinals shifted third baseman Tommy Edman to second in place of Wong and plugged in Matt Carpenter at the hot corner.
The Cardinals, who lead the Cubs in their current matchup as of this writing, entered Thursday with a three-game advantage in the division. Their success has come thanks in part to Wong, who has racked up 3.7 fWAR and slashed .285/.361/.423 with 11 home runs and 24 stolen bases (28 attempts) across 549 plate appearances. He’s clearly not someone St. Louis wants to go without for any period of time as it attempts to earn its first division title since 2015.
If the Redbirds do lose Wong beyond Thursday, it seems they’ll continue with the hot-hitting rookie Edman at the keystone and Carpenter at third. Carpenter’s a longtime Cardinals star, but he has endured a surprisingly mediocre campaign in 2019 and fallen behind Edman on the team’s late-season depth chart at the hot corner.
Hope he is not out for long.
Ya they need him. Edman won’t miss a step slotting into the two spot, but the bottom of their lineup gets much weaker. Hopefully it’s only a game or two, it didn’t look too bad when it happened. Knock on wood. M
Stan…hamstring no matter what is a week at least
Lol I actually have no idea but it would seem that way
If Wong actually reached to grab it, it likely IS a week.
And, on the bad for Cards flip side, Rizzo is back.
He didn’t reach for anything, he just slowed up and took a couple of uncomfortable steps at the end of a run down to first. Looks more precautionary from the outside looking in, but we will find out soon enough.
Rizzo looks pretty rough moving around the infield, I would be very surprised if they don’t attack that tomorrow.
I had seen “reached” on the Post Dispatch story. Hadn’t been watching the game.
And it still says that:
stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal…
I think what he’s saying if he reached as it happened. The story’s not that clear but it sounds like he reached for his hammy when he stopped running after the play was over.
I would probably put Karp at 2nd and leave Edman at 3rd. Hopefully Wong isnt out long though
Nah, you want the better defender (obviously Edman) at 2B.
Gosh i hope this doesn’t affect the gold glove award the Cardinals give him this off season? He’s the best 2B man in the metro area.
Lol if you don’t think he is the best second baseman in the league then you should stop commenting
He prob meant defensive wise, since he used the word “gold glove”.
If you’re taking Wong over Ozzie Albies, Mike Moustakas and now Hiura, then you should stop commenting. Then again, you should have quit commenting a long time ago because you have no idea what objectivity means. And Baez is better when he plays 2B. He’s better in general.
I’m definitely taking Wong over Albies, moose (really) lol, and Hiura
Baez is the most over rated defensive 2nd baseman in baseball.
Baez plays SS, Hoerner will be 2nd baseman and he has amazing glove as well .
moose is not a second basemen lol and yes I’ll put him at third were he belongs but definitely not second..Albies ok he is definitely a good argument…Hiura has a lot to prove before anything is said and done…Kolten Wong has been the best second baseman post All star break…
No, we’re all laughing at the moronic comments you continue to make. Did you seriously just say that defense isn’t important for playing 2nd base?! You’re even more ignorant than I thought….
Yes i did. 99% of people who know baseball believe C/CF/SS are most important. 2B like I said, has totally changed because of the new rules. It’s why MANY TEAMS WILL PLAY MULTIPLE PLAYERS THERE. But you keep living in the league from years gone by. I’ll watch what is going on now.
what new rules?
I guess you’ve missed the last few seasons. No sliding hard into second base taking out a fielder on double plays. Shifts helping cover ground on the right side. You know, things 99% of us are aware of the last few years.
What does sliding into second base hard have anything to do with good defense at second base? You can have condescending attitude all you want bud…don’t know what’s wrong in your life…also shifts are not new rules…it’s a new concept but not a new rule
Why would anything be wrong in my life just because you don’t know baseball? The slide rule makes it a LOT EASIER to turn double plays. The shift makes it easier to cover ground when the 3B man shifts over and the SS plays up the middle. This is why guys can make the move 2B who never really played it before. I think I’m done explaining baseball 101 to you. This has been talked about numerous times by many people besides me.
Lol you still have to have quick hands to turn a double play…and the rule was made to protect the player and to get rid of the neighborhood play in which it made it way more easier to turn a double play because the second baseman didn’t have to stay on the bag to turn the it…also once again shifting is not a new rule! Lol I love how you are trying to sound smart but really only proving how much you don’t know anything
Lol you think second base defense doesn’t matter because of the shift…lmao
You’re so clueless that you proved my point and don’t even realize it. Take a deep breath and move on. Quit before you dig yourself a deeper hole.
I tried to spare you the embarrassment, but I feel the need to correct and educate you. Now tell me how wrong I am, as players and coaches are saying what I’ve been telling you.
Upon deeper analysis, however, the concept not only makes sense, it reveals a counterintuitive truth about modern baseball: Second base, a position long viewed as the domain of a slick fielder given its place in the middle of the diamond, now resembles Little League right field—the easiest spot to stash a glove you want to hide.
“You stand there and you wait for the ball to be hit in your area and you run and get it and throw it to whatever base,” said Boston second baseman Ian Kinsler, a former Gold Glove winner. “It’s simple, dude.”
It seems that teams feel increasingly comfortable trusting people at second base with far less history there than Betts. After trading for third baseman Mike Moustakas in July, the Milwaukee Brewers put Travis Shaw at second, even though he had never played there at any level. He started at second throughout the playoffs and held his own as the Brewers advanced to within one win of the World Series.
The New York Mets auditioned Daniel Murphy around the field in their search to find a home for his prodigious bat. After he failed to distinguish himself at third base, first base or left field, he settled in at second in 2012. He continues to play there today at a serviceable level.
The Dodgers’ Max Muncy didn’t spend an inning at second base in his first four years in the pros, before moving there for occasional duty in 2016. He started two games of the National League Championship Series there.
“Obviously the landscape of who can play second base has changed,” said Mark DeRosa, a MLB Network analyst who played 343 games at second base in a 16-year career that ended in 2013. “You can see different guys playing the position.”
The reason for this stems from significant changes to the game that have led to a broad reassessment of the skills required. Teams have become so sophisticated in how they position their defenders for individual batters that they can compensate for deficiencies in an infielder’s range. When done well, coaches can station a second baseman so precisely that he often won’t have to move more than a couple steps, and the shorter throw to first provides some margin for error.
Teams deploy defensive shifts so frequently nowadays that other fielders, like the third baseman, often wind up receiving the throw on double play chances, lessening the burden on a weak second baseman. Meanwhile, MLB has stronger rules protecting infielders from hard takeout slides than ever before, significantly reducing the likelihood of a second baseman suffering a serious injury around the base.
Let me know if you want more?
“For years, fielders had been gliding across the base, scraping air or jumping over the bag after using it as a trampoline. Now, they have to exact their skills. The infielders have to be on the base while receiving and throwing the baseball.
“I am making sure I am on that bag now,” said Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison. “That could be a reason.”
That split second to confirm they have the ball and touch the base may be slowing down their pivot just a hair, giving the runner that extra step — the difference between a double play and a fielder’s choice.“
The same Josh Harrison who didn’t become a FULM TIME 2B MAN until he was in the league 5 years playing 3B and OF. Thank you. Keep digging that hole. It’s comical reading your responses and you continue to prove my point how teams continue to utilize 2B as the position to STICK ANYONE THERE as long as they throw with their right arm.
You put up a good argument…I don’t mind admitting I’m wrong…although I think Wongs defense, which has the most defensive runs saved at 15…also the cardinals infield rates as one of the best, not to mention has turned the most double plays in baseball is the best in the league… and Wongs offensive numbers are the best on second base in the second half….I think that alone has a lot to do with being on first place in the NL central
No need to worry about the gold glove, that’s going to Albies!
It was foul
Cards just can’t catch a break. First the closer now the gold glove second baseman. Oh well good teams have guys that step up.
It’s better to have someone like Wong as day-to-day rather than losing your best hitter for the rest of the season, as has happened to several teams including both current NL Central foes.
Cards can’t catch a break? The Cubs don’t have Baez. The Brewers don’t have Yelich. I think they caught plenty of breaks. They’re the luckiest team in baseball.
You make your own luck son.
Yes. Lucky in the sense that the 2 teams chasing them are both lousy.
And the Cards are good? They’re a slight notch above mediocre.
Bet Cubs fans wish Wong stayed in.
I hope that the injury has been diagnosed wite
a second opinion may prove it
to be WONG !!
This news has a silver lining, Carp will get more at bats.
Sum Ding Wong
Predicted more than a month ago that the Cardinals would win the NL Central. That remark was met with several chastising replies from Cub and Brewer fans. So far, I’m looking prescient in that regard.
As an aside, I hope the Cubs don’t makes the playoffs. Ought to humble their I’m-the-smartest-guy-in-the-room manager
Hate to see Cards lose Wong, but Tommy Edman has been a real find. Frankly, until this year, I never heard of the guy. Good to have Carpenter available to play 3B (Edman moves to 2B). Carpenter is swinging the bat better these days. Gonna miss Wong’s defense and speed, but gonna be just fine without him. A true testament to having a strong bench.
Dodgers get the wild-card winner. If it’s the Nats, that’s not much of a break having to face their top three starters: Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin. Cards will get get the Braves, and they can beat them.
Then it’s off to LA and, lo and behold, Cards win the NL pennant!
Yes hope that the Cubs don’t make playoffs . Cards win division and they will sit back and do nothing in offseason . Cubs lose 90 million off books , zobrist, Morrow, HAmels and most of bullpen. Add$$$$$ from new tv station. Add hoerner for entire year , maybe castellanos , cole or Strasburg? Then gain a bullpen who won’t blow 20 games and they will be just fine.
Dream on cub fans. Dream on
I’m afraid Ricketts has shown he will only spend up to the highest luxury tax threshold. After arb raises, they probably have about $25-30 million to spend this offseason. That being said, with the players that they will probably keep, it should be enough to win 85 games. Anyone they add will just add to that total. It should be another tight race next year.
And Lou, nice to see you’re doubling down, but the Cubs are not out of either race yet.
You forget. The Cards already have the 2 best 1 and 2 starters in league still going to be there for years to come. The cubs can’t match that. Doubt they stand pat. They have money to burn.
Did you really just say that? Best 1-2 in the league? Ever hear of Ryu, Kershaw and Buehler? Strasburg and Scherzer? Degrom? It’s hard to have best 1 and 2 when you don’t at least have the best. I would even rank Castillo and Gray as good or better than at least Hudson.
Your opinion is worthless my man
Your life is worthless.
I think banking on the Cardinals doing nothing in the offseason while the Cubs improve is a poor way to prepare for next year. Obviously the Cardinals are going to be trying to improve as well. Wacha is gone after this year as well as the possibility of Wainwright, so they are going to have to make some sort of moves.
So the Cubs shouldn’t improve the team? I like alzolay and Marquez. Need to develop more pitching . Cubs improved in 2016 and it worked out well for them . They won that World Series thingy.
The Cardinals will have Flaherty, Hudson and Mikolas…which aren’t a bad three…Wainwright will get another year and they will also try to plug Martinez back into the rotation…or maybe even go with Gant…the Cardinals aren’t going to pay big in FA for no starting pitcher…I don’t see them doing much actually…maybe resign Ozuna…
It had been 108 years since they won that thingy. I’d say the odds were with them. But according to cub fans they were going to win that thingy again and again and again. They were suppose to be a super dynasty.
Stop deleting my comments CONNOR. Tired of all you fools who write these articles that think you’re the bearer of free speech.
This is not free speech. They are offering you the right to post if you follow their terms and conditions.
Go create your own website. Good luck!
I’d flag you, but it’s funny to see you worked up in a lather for the whole world to see.
Stfu nerd, no one cares what you have to say.
Mad Dog! Woof!