Matt Holliday was one of three St. Louis Cardinals starting outfielders—that's all of them—to finish Wednesday's victory against the Houston Astros with a not-especially-severe injury. Center fielder Colby Rasmus missed three games with abdominal pain before returning in a still-limited capacity as a pinch hitter; Lance Berkman left the game with wrist pain after making an outstanding catch in right. In between, Holliday left the game with what the team is calling tightness in his left quadriceps. His return is uncertain, but in his postgame comments Tony La Russa did not seem extremely concerned by the problem.
Holliday was replaced initially by seldom-used backup first baseman Mark Hamilton, who went 0-1 and played an inning in the field before being replaced with Allen Craig, who had started the game at second base. (Tyler Greene, who would eventually replace Lance Berkman in right field, came into the game to play second.) When asked to explain the roster roulette La Russa suggested that the Cardinals' four-run fourth inning made him shift the order for defense, instead of offense.