St. Louis Cardinals’ Carlos Beltran back in the lineup after knee surgery – NLCS News
A couple of days after he had knee injury that resulted in early exit from National League Championship Series Game 3, St. Louis Cardinals' Carlos Beltran was back in the line-up in Game 5 on Friday, allaying the fears that his absence might impact the club’s offence.
Beltran’s sprained left knee was tested and cleared, allowing him to appear in Game 5, playing in right field. What bothered him and the team as a whole, was being able to run 100 percent. With the game that he had, there appears to be satisfaction now.
"We never saw anything structurally wrong, so the discussion was always about how much he could do with the discomfort that he was feeling," general manager John Mozeliak said. "He went out there and had running test, and he went through all of it and felt capable of contributing. So he's in the lineup."
Beltran ended Friday 4-for-1. The team had other plans as well if Beltran was not 100 percent to play. Names that had already been mentioned to replace him were that of Matt Carpenter and Allen Craig.
Rookie Carpenter had done well in Beltran’s absence in Game 3 where he smashed a two-run homer to eventually lead the team to a 3-1 win.
Although Beltran, who has had over 100 post-season games experience, made his way back on Friday, the team could not quite finish it off. Having 3-1 lead prior to Game 5, the Cardinals were hoping to eliminate the Giants from the NLCS.
Nothing of that sort materialised with the Giants’ eventual 5-0 win, which made it 3-2 for San Francisco.
With Beltran back and Chris Carpenter slated to start in Game 6 – which could be a series-decider, the Cardinals hope things will click for them.
Like Beltran, Carpenter also inspires much hope and confidence. "I don't see any reason not to [expect great things]," said reliever Mitchell Boggs. "We're sending a guy out there that has pitched big for us a lot."
It will have to be seen if the Cardinals really do their bid in the crucial Game 6 to make it to the World Series, or will have to wait for the series-decider in Game 7.
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