Carlos Beltran grounded into a double play in his first at-bat and then left Game 3 of the NLCS with what the Cardinals have announced as a strained left knee.
Matt Carpenter replaced Beltran in right field to begin the second inning.
Beltran has been dealing with a hand injury, but it didn’t stop him from hitting .400 with three homers, five doubles, and a 1.353 OPS through nine playoff games.
He would be a huge loss for the Cardinals, as Beltran owns the highest batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS in postseason history, ahead of a couple guys named Ruth and Gehrig.
UPDATE: Carpenter homered in his first at-bat after replacing Beltran, naturally.