Vital Cardinals Slugger Placed On IL After Painful Hit-By-Pitch In Loss To Twins

How will St. Louis recover from the latest loss to the lineup?

Aug 23, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (40) scores against the Minnesota Twins in the fourth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals dropped the ball on Saturday afternoon's 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins but the club suffered more than just a troubling defeat.

Everything seemed to be going well for St. Louis after it accomplished its first three-game win streak since late June following Friday's 6-1 win over the Twins but sadly, things have taken a rapid turn for the worse.

Not only are the Cardinals now in third place in the National League Central and trail the final NL Wild Card spot by six games but a crucial piece of St. Louis' lineup could be out for an extended period of time after sustaining a painful injury in Saturday's shutout loss.

"Contreras was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning and left the game," The Athletic's Katie Woo reported shortly after the organization announced the injury status of the 32-year-old's right-hand middle finger. "He underwent X-rays at Target Field, which revealed the fracture. There is no immediate timetable for his return. Obviously, given where the team is in the standings, any amount of missed time is significant."

Contreras was batting .262 with 32 extra-base hits including 15 home runs, 36 RBIs and a .848 OPS in 84 games played for St. Louis this season.

Losing Contreras to injury earlier in the season after he was struck by New York Mets' J.D. Martinez's swing and suffered a broken left forearm was a difficult blow to a struggling Cardinals offense at the time.

However, let's not forget that shortly after Contreras was sidelined, St. Louis went on an impressive run that was sparked by Cardinals manager Oli Marmol's ejection from a May 12 nail-bitingly close 4-3 victory over the NL-rival Milwaukee Brewers. If they could turn things around without the star catcher back then, they should certainly be able to do so now.

Recovering from such a significant loss in the lineup will be a massive test for this Cardinals lineup. With only 33 games left to play this season, St. Louis has to keep moving forward or it's looking at a second-consecutive year of missing the postseason.

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