8:00 p.m. EDT: The Cardinals don’t intend to immediately place Pujols on the disabled list with the sprained left wrist and shoulder injury he suffered Sunday. Pujols said he isn’t yet certain how serious the problems are.
“To be honest, I can’t give you guys too much until the X-rays and an MRI tomorrow,” he said. “I know I’m pretty sore. Am I worried? Of course. Hopefully, everything will come out negative
tomorrow. When I come out of a game, believe me, something is really wrong. Hopefully, cross our fingers and I’ll be all right.”
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Ugly scene in St. Louis.
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was lifted in the sixth inning of Sunday’s series finale against the Royals after appearing to injure his left wrist and shoulder while stretching for a wayward throw from second baseman Pete Kozma.
Kozma made a nice play, ranging to his right and firing off a throw while leaping away from the infield. But the ball was not on target and Pujols jammed his extended left arm into the body of Wilson Betemit, who was trucking down the first base line.
Pujols immediately hit the ground in pain and his wrist began showing significant swelling within seconds. It’s quite possible that he suffered a fracture.
Pujols homered in the bottom of the fifth inning after taking an up-and-in pitch from Royals reliever Louis Coleman. The go-ahead shot left Busch Stadium in under two seconds and put a charge into the crowd, but that energy was erased quickly in the top of the sixth when Albert hit the deck.
A free agent this winter, Pujols had mashed eight home runs and tallied 14 RBI in 17 games this month. He was quickly making up for a slow offensive start. Now it seems that all could be put on hold for a while.
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UPDATE, 4:22 PM: According to the Cardinals’ television broadcast (FS Midwest), Pujols has been diagnosed with a sprained left wrist. He will be examined by a physician Monday. So far, the news is promising.
UPDATE, 5:34 PM: La Russa revealed very little in his postgame press conference, telling reporters only that “there’s a chance” Pujols avoided a major injury. The Cardinals tend to keep injury information close to the vest and might not address the matter further until Monday afternoon, after the slugger is reevaluated. La Russa did say that Pujols had “good strength” in his wrist during initial tests.