Lance Berkman Injury: St. Louis Cardinals Slugger Returns In Loss Sunday

The St. Louis Cardinals finally got Lance Berkman back Sunday afternoon, after a seemingly minor mid-April calf injury led him to miss nearly a month. Berkman was 1-5 in the Cardinals' series-ending loss to the Atlanta Braves, spending the entire afternoon at first base and striking out three times.

The Cardinals weren't exactly suffering at first base in his absence; Allen Craig and Matt Carpenter did an outstanding Lance Berkman impression in his stead. But with him back the Cardinals will be able to redeploy Carpenter as the primary backup at third base and Craig as Berkman's near-platoon-partner and the primary caddy for Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday.

The Cardinals keep losing, but the depth gets deeper. Now, while Beltran and Berkman are both healthy, the Cardinals are left to wonder again just how to get enough at-bats for Craig, who's currently hitting .359/.413/.821.

More Cardinals coverage from SB Nation St. Louis:

• Is it time to worry about Adam Wainwright yet?
• If it is, we at least have a timetable for Chris Carpenter's return.

Lance Berkman Injury: St. Louis Cardinals Could Activate Slugger Sunday

Predicting the end of Lance Berkman injury watch has become an almost-impossible game to play—even Lance Berkman is terrible at it, having most recently assumed that his calf problem would be a thing of the past back on Friday. As it turned out, it wasn't, and Berkman, who's played only seven games all season, was held back again due to a calf injury that's gone from a nagging concern to a month-long absence ever since Berk ran out the costliest triple of the season.

Jenifer Langosch reported Saturday that the Cardinals could see Berkman's return as soon as Sunday, for their series finale against the Atlanta Braves. It's hard to be optimistic about that date's accuracy, at this point, but the same depth that's going to allow them to ease him back into the lineup in the first place—I wouldn't expect him to see much time against left-handed pitchers for a while, with Allen Craig on the roster—has made their time without Berkman run relatively smooth, so it's unlikely the Cardinals will rush him before he's ready. After all, their OPS at first base is already over .950.

Lance Berkman Injury: Cardinals Veteran Won't Be Activated Friday

The St. Louis Cardinals are not going to activate Lance Berkman from the disabled list on Friday. Mike Matheny is being cautious and wants to see the veteran work out again; he also pointed out that with the Braves starting a lefthander on Friday night, Berkman would not have been in the lineup even if he were active.

Manager Mike Matheny said he wanted to see Berkman, who has a strained left calf, work out at least one more time.

"He wasn't going to be in there today anyhow," said Matheny.

Berkman, a switch-hitter, is a more productive hitter lefthanded, i.e., against righthanded pitching.

Related: Braves Vs. Cardinals Preview: St. Louis Looks For Fifth Straight Win

Friday's game is set to start at 7:15 p.m. CT.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage, head over to Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos. News and notes from around Major League Baseball can be found at Baseball Nation.

Lance Berkman Injury: St. Louis Cardinals 1B Could Return Friday Vs. Braves

Lance Berkman's injury has been far stubborner than expected—he tweaked his calf legging out a triple a month ago, back on April 10—but the St. Louis Cardinals could have their starting first baseman back Friday, when they return to St. Louis to play the Atlanta Braves in a weekend set.

Berkman played two games a week after the injury, going 2-7, but the trainers didn't like the way he was running and he's been kept on a tight leash since then to avoid reaggravating it. It hasn't been too much of an inconvenience: Matt Carpenter starred early, while Allen Craig is 9-27 with three doubles and three home runs since returning from the disabled list himself.

With Berkman back the Cardinals will—for a while, at least—be in the enviable position of having Too Many Hitters. That was the plan for this team all along: They can afford to rely on Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran, because Allen Craig will always be standing behind one of them. Matt Carpenter's just been an unexpected bonus.

More St. Louis Cardinals updates from SB Nation St. Louis:

• Yadier Molina's hand injury probably won't send him to the disabled list. Which is good, because neither Tony Cruz nor Bryan Anderson has impressed since the backup catcher competition...
• Here, inexplicably, is an exhaustive history of the Fat Middle Infielder.

Lance Berkman Injury: Former Killer B Won't Return For Start Of Cardinals Vs. Astros Series

Lance Berkman is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list on Friday, but Cardinals.com's Jenifer Langosch is reporting that the first baseman, who's been dealing with a lingering calf injury since legging out a triple early in the season, won't return immediately.

The Cardinals could hardly have asked for a better time than this to deal with Berkman's injury. Matt Carpenter, the rookie third baseman pressed into service at the start of his DL stint, is hitting .279/.338/.485 in 68 at-bats, mostly at first, and now Allen Craig, the Cardinals' primary reserve for all their veteran sluggers, has made his own return; he's 4-9 with two doubles in two games since coming off the disabled list.

Berkman, hitting 8-23 with two doubles and the fateful triple in just five games this season, will have to contribute at some point, and he should be ready to try soon. But for now, the Cardinals have hardly felt his absence at all.

More St. Louis Cardinals news and analysis from SB Nation St. Louis:

• In the latest episode of Legopiece Theater: Dugout Abbey, Albert Pujols has a hard time sleeping in his new digs.
• The Cardinals are in great position for the 2012 MLB Draft.
• Finally, it's not going to be mistaken for Whiteyball but the Cardinals are doing a lot of running under Mike Matheny.

Lance Berkman Injury: St. Louis Cardinals' First Baseman Not Running Yet

Lance Berkman's calf injury, which began as a lingering issue, lingers still: Berkman and the St. Louis Cardinals were hoping he'd be able to test his injured left leg over the weekend, but Joe Strauss reported Monday that the team trainers didn't think he was ready.

Berkman, who played 145 games last season, has missed 15 already this season; he's hitting .348/.500/.522 in seven games. Matt Carpenter has gamely covered his absence, hitting .267/.333/.467 and earning most of the starts so far at first base, but with Allen Craig due back this week it looks like the Cardinals will have no need to rush their limping slugger back.

Berkman hit .301/.412/.547 in 2011, his first season with the Cardinals, as their surprise starter in right field. The 164 OPS+ was a career high at age-35 for the former Houston Astros star. More Cardinals coverage from SB Nation St. Louis:

• This week's Legopiece Theater: Dugout Abbey takes a look at Albert Pujols's unpleasant start to the season with the Los Angeles Angels. With Lego.
• Lance Berkman legging out a triple is what started this whole mess, but under Mike Matheny the rest of the Cardinals are running relatively wild.

Lance Berkman Injury: Cardinals 1B Placed On 15-Day DL With Calf Injury

On Thursday afternoon, St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak announced that first baseman Lance Berkman has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a calf injury. Berkman initially suffered the injury last week, then aggravated it on Wednesday.

Berkman, in giving futile chase to a pop foul Wednesday night, aggravated a calf strain he had suffered last week in Cincinnati. He was out four games with that injury before returning to play 1 1/2 games.

Berkman is hitting .348/.500/.522 this season.

Skip Schumaker, who has been rehabbing in triple-A, is expected to be activated by the Cardinals.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more coverage, check out Viva El Birdos and Red Reporter, SB Nation's Cardinals and Reds blogs, respectively. News and notes from around Major League Baseball can be found on Baseball Nation.