Albert Pujols's wrist injury situation will become a bit clearer for the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, for better or worse, when they he's given an MRI and an x-ray that should confirm or rule out ligament damage and fractures that were an open question on Sunday, after Pujols injured the wrist in a collision at first base with Wilson Betemit. The Cardinals were "cautiously optimistic" following the first battery of tests, run immediately after the Cardinals' win against the Kansas City Royals.
Pujols, who struggled throughout April and May, including a month in which he hit just two home runs, finds himself off the field in the middle of the best stretch of hitting he's had this season. Earlier in the game he hit his 17th home run earlier in the game, a hard line drive down the left field line for his eighth homer of June. If Pujols hits the disabled list, the Cardinals are likely to play Lance Berkman at first base and start Jon Jay much of the time in right field.