Lohse
Ankiel
Glaus
The Cardinals were three players short for their matchup with the Chicago Cubs. Outfielder Rick Ankiel was resting his lingering abdominal injury, and right-hander Kyle Lohse decided to drop his appeal of a five-game suspension for an incident against the Cincinnati Reds.
The team's medical report on Wednesday said pitcher Chris Carpenter was also unavailable and was scheduled for "further diagnostic tests" Thursday to determine his status.
The Cardinals entered the game four games behind the NL wild card-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Ankiel was the starting center fielder before he got hurt in late July. He saw limited duty in 14 games before returning to the everyday lineup in left field to minimize the risk of aggravating the injury.
Manager Tony La Russa wasn't sure how much Ankiel, batting .264 with 25 homers and 71 RBIs in his first full year as a starting position player, would play the rest of the season.
"We're definitely going to back him off," La Russa said. "He's going to get examined and we'll decide what's best."
Lohse's suspension for throwing high and tight to pitcher Edinson Volquez in the fifth inning Aug. 17, a half-inning after he saw the same type of pitching, won't be felt until Sunday, his next scheduled turn in the rotation. He worked 5 1/3 innings and gave up three runs in Tuesday's 4-3 victory over the Cubs.
When the penalty was announced, including a fine, Lohse said the ruling was "pretty weak."
"We looked at what's ahead and we didn't want to run the risk of it interfering with later in the year," La Russa said. "We're going to have to find a starter for that day."
Glaus, removed from Tuesday's game after striking out in the third inning, said the MRI showed no significant problems. He said it'll be two or three days before the effectiveness of the cortisone shot can be assessed.
"Everything on the MRI showed structurally, no problems," Glaus said. "That's not even a concern or a conversation at this point."
Glaus had a cortisone injection in the back of his shoulder on Sunday, more of a general attempt at healing the injury. The latest injection was more in the front of the shoulder.
"This time, they know exactly where it is," Glaus said. "It's hurt for a while and we tried to get through it but at some point we couldn't calm it down enough."
Felipe Lopez started at third base on Wednesday and batted second, Glaus' spot in the order on Tuesday. Josh Phelps started in left field and batted sixth.
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