PITTSBURGH — Whatever happened later in the game to decide who had the more runs, the Cardinals had at least a gulp of concern for who was lost from the game.
All-Star closer Ryan Helsley got five pitches into his scheduled appearance Tuesday night at PNC Park before having to field a ball hit back at him and avoid the shards of a bat he split. He placed his right hand on the ground to keep his balance, and at some point in that series of events appeared to jam a finger on his pitching hand. He was unable to continue, and the Cardinals’ initial diagnosis was a jammed middle finger on his right hand. A team official said Helsley was removed out of a sense of “precaution,” and the right-hander would be reevaluated late Tuesday.
The Cardinals' plan, after talks with the closer about how he'd like to get ready for the postseason, was to get Helsley one inning of work against the Pirates regardless of the score and then give him the next two days off. That would be his rest ahead of Game 1 of the wild-card series that opens Friday at Busch Stadium.
