St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran will return to the lineup on Friday night after missing Game 4 of the NLCS with a sore left knee.
The outfielder will reportedly bat second for the Cards on Friday night and according to ESPN's Jayson Stark, the 14-year veteran received acupuncture treatment on the knee on Friday afternoon, then got nearly five hours of treatment at Busch Stadium and is ready to play in Game 5.
Beltran injured the knee grounding into a double play in Game 3 and was replaced in the lineup by Matt Carpenter, who hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to lead St. Louis to victory. Beltran was limited to pinch-hitting duty for Game 4 on Thursday night, and was 3-for-7 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI through the first two games of the NLCS.
First pitch for Game 5 is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on FOX.