The return of pain in his finger that disrupts his ability to “let it eat” offensively and contributed to limitations elsewhere defensively forced Nolan Arenado from Friday night’s game and the Cardinals to weigh whether his All-Star break should begin two days early.
Arenado hit a pitch off the end of the bat and that irritated the sprained right index figure that kept him out of two games during the recent road trip. Concerned the pain might alter his throwing and lead to issues in his arm, Arenado left in the seventh inning Friday.
“It’s kind of hard to let it, like really let go,” Arenado said of how the injury influenced his swing. “But when I really want to let it eat, my body is not letting me do it. Feels like a little bit of pain. I can’t play like that. I’m not playing well enough.”
The Cardinals are going to decide Arenado’s return based on how he feels early Saturday morning ahead of the 1:15 p.m. first pitch. A stint at designated hitter is one possibility — and so is taking two games off and getting six days to rest, recover, and calm the finger.
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Arenado said he had a deeper scan taken of the joint to see if there was any damage or unseen fractures in it, and that MRI came back encouraging. He first injured the finger in Cleveland, the first stop of a recent three-city road trip, and that cost him two games against the Pirates. He returned to finish the road trip before feeling irritation near his right shoulder that he traces back to compensating for the finger pain. Pain or weakness in the finger can make it difficult to grip a bat and impossible to throw a baseball — with force or accuracy.
“I’ve never dealt with something like this this,” Arenado said late Friday night in the clubhouse. “My finger hurts and it’s kind of irritating everything else. It is something I usually haven’t dealt with. I’m trying to figure it out a little bit. Maybe rest. Go from there.”
Arenado said he felt the pain creeping into his throwing and he was concerned about causing an injury to his arm, telling his manager, “I can’t push through it right now.”
Arenado’s injury adds to a lineup already limping into next week’s break.
Ivan Herrera (hamstring) had three hits Saturday night but for Class AAA Memphis as he nears a return from injury. Jordan Walker (appendicitis) homered Thursday night for Class AA Springfield while on a rehab assignment there. Lars Nootbaar (ribcage) left Thursday’s game with some soreness but returned Friday and is managing the injury through the final innings before the All-Star break, as is Brendan Donovan (toe) and Alec Burleson — each of whom is playing with some discomfort.
“We’re beat up,” manager Oliver Marmol said.
The lack of depth — and, in some cases, lack of thump — in the lineup contributed to the Cardinals falling just shy in their comeback attempt Friday against Atlanta at Busch Stadium. Matthew Liberatore struggled as the Braves tagged him for three runs in the first, one in the second, and two more in his third inning. The lefty allowed six total and did not strike out a batter in three innings. The Cardinals answered with rallies of their own to tighten the game to a one-run deficit after three innings and both starters’ departures. At one point, the teams combined for more hits (18) than they did outs (17). And then it sat as both bullpens pitched shutouts for the final six innings of the Cardinals’ 6-5 loss.
Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages tags out the Braves’ Drake Baldwin at the plate in the third inning Friday, July 11, 2025, at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
Burleson contributed a double to each of the Cardinals’ rallies, and in the third inning Pedro Pages lifted a two-run single to right field took the biggest chomp out of Atlanta’s early lead. Victor Scott II followed with an RBI single that scored the Cardinals’ fifth run and trimmed the lead down to a run.
From there, the offense generated opportunities, not runs.
The Cardinals went 5 for 16 with runners in scoring position, and the inability to tie the game despite gifts of an error and walks in the final six innings came down to a lack of the big hit and a lack of execution in the big spot. Scott put himself at the nexus of all of it. He had the two-out RBI single in the third for a key run. He threw a runner out at the plate to end the third inning. And in the eighth, just after the Cardinals squandered two baserunners with no outs, Scott earned a one-out to get the inning around to the top of the Cardinals lineup.
If he could steal second — he really had to steal second — a base hit would bring him home as the tying run, and he got his lead.
But he was picked off.
“Very 50-50 moment,” he said. “That’s not going to tone down my aggressiveness because that is my game.”
There were other moments throughout the game Marmol referred to as teachable. The Cardinals did not advance a runner in the seventh inning after getting two on to open it. In the fourth, an error put a runner in scoring position to open the inning, and two flyouts nixed that as a scoring chance for the tying run.
“There’s a lot to learn from this game for our hitters,” Marmol said. “We’ll take this one and you can break it down a lot of different ways making sure this isn’t a wasted opportunity. It’s a frustrating loss but there are a lot of at-bats that we’ll end up doing our review with and making sure that we really dive into it. There’s some growth there, for sure.”
Arenado led off the second with a single and was the lead runner as the Cardinals loaded the bases with one out. Scott made that possible by outrun a grounder to fill the bases. The next two Cardinals, the two at the top of the lineup, flew out to end the inning.
In four separate innings, the Cardinals got a runner on base with one or fewer outs and failed to advance that runner with the second out of the inning.
And one time the runner was picked off for that out.
“Being able to move runners,” Marmol said. “The style of at-bats. How we want to miss if we do miss. So, there’s some good conversations that will come out of this one. More than in most games.”
But first is the one with Arenado on how he recovers by Saturday.
If a stint on the injury list is necessary, he’ll miss the first series returning from the break. If two days would help him, the Cardinals were willing to play short for the same amount of time in Pittsburgh and that would get him to the four-day break next week. Arenado agreed getting the break will be helpful, and the question becomes if he can contribute in the two days remaining before he, the Cardinals, and Major League Baseball get to it. Marmol was asked if utilizing the break has to be considered.
“If he was a normal human, yes,” Marmol said. “But he likes to play baseball. We’ll see how he comes in (Saturday) and then make a decision.”
Post-Dispatch sports columnists Lynn Worthy and Jeff Gordon discuss the struggles of starting pitcher Erick Fedde and how the Cardinals will have to adjust their rotation going forward.
The ӣƵ Cardinals lose 6-5 to the Atlanta Braves to begin final home stand before All-Star break
Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages tags out the Braves’ Drake Baldwin at the plate in the third inning Friday, July 11, 2025, at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II makes a play on a bounce on Friday July 11, 2025, in the first inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore collects himself after giving up a two-run home run to Atlanta Braves batter Sean Murphy, left, on Friday July 11, 2025, in the first inning of a game at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals batter Willson Contreras singles on Friday July 11, 2025, to score Alec Burleson in the first inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals batter Masyn Winn tosses his batting glove on Friday July 11, 2025, after popping out to end the second inning with runners on base in a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore regroups as Atlanta Braves batter Sean Murphy rounds the bases on a solo home run on Friday July 11, 2025, in the third inning of a game at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore, right, confers with catcher Pedro Pages as pitching coach Dusty Blake arrives for a meeting at the mound in the third inning against the Braves on Friday, July 11, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
ӣƵ Cardinals battery Pedro Pages, right, and Matthew Liberatore, left, watch the ball come in on Friday July 11, 2025, as Atlanta Braves runner Jurickson Profar crosses home plate comfortably in the third inning of a game at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien throws on Friday July 11, 2025, in the fourth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals runner Masyn Winn rounds first base on Friday July 11, 2025, after seeing a high throw to Atlanta infielder Matt Olson go errant in the fourth inning of a game at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien throws on Friday July 11, 2025, in the fourth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien celebrates a strike out to end the top of the fifth inning on Friday July 11, 2025, during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals pitcher Matt Svanson throws on Friday July 11, 2025, in the fifth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan watches from the dugout on Friday July 11, 2025, during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals pitcher Matt Svanson throws on Friday July 11, 2025, in the fifth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals batter Willson Contreras winces on his way to first base on Friday July 11, 2025, after hitting a single in the seventh inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals batter Willson Contreras winces and stretches on Friday July 11, 2025, at first base after hitting a single in the seventh inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals batter Alec Burleson reacts after popping up for an out on Friday July 11, 2025, in the ninth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
Atlanta Braves batter Ronald Acuna Jr. reacts to a swing and miss on Friday July 11, 2025, in the sixth inning of a game against the ӣƵ Cardinals at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
ӣƵ Cardinals pitcher Matt Svanson is congratulated by teammates in the dugout on Friday July 11, 2025, after leaving a game aagainst the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium in ӣƵ.
White Sox 5, Guardians 4 (11)
SECOND GAME
Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Kwan lf 5 1 1 0 1 0 .287
Jones rf-cf 5 1 2 0 1 2 .233
Ramírez dh 4 1 1 2 1 0 .297
Manzardo 1b 5 0 1 0 1 0 .215
Martínez cf-2b 5 0 1 1 0 2 .242
Schneemn 2b-3b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .214
W.Wilson 3b 3 0 0 0 1 3 .159
Santana ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .230
Naylor c 4 0 0 0 1 0 .174
Rocchio ss 5 0 1 1 0 2 .183
Totals 40 4 8 4 7 10
Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Tauchman rf 4 1 1 1 2 1 .292
Sosa 2b 4 2 2 2 1 1 .272
Benintendi dh 4 0 0 0 1 1 .218
Vargas 1b 3 0 1 1 1 0 .219
Teel c 3 1 0 0 1 1 .234
Robert cf 4 0 1 0 1 1 .188
Montgomery ss 3 1 1 0 2 0 .318
Rojas 3b 3 0 0 1 0 2 .179
Meidroth ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
Robertson lf 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000
Slater ph-lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .224
Quero ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .269
M.Taylor pr-lf 0 0 0 0 1 0 .221
Totals 31 5 6 5 11 9
Cleveland 002 001 100 00 — 4 8 1
Chicago 101 010 010 01 — 5 6 0
One out when winning run scored.
E: Schneemann (2). LOB: Cleveland 14, Chicago 12. 2B: Schneemann (9), Rocchio (7), Martínez (15). 3B: Jones (2). HR: Ramírez (18), off Cannon; Sosa 2 (9), off Williams. RBIs: Ramírez 2 (47), Rocchio (12), Martínez (33), Sosa 2 (31), Vargas (35), Rojas (9), Tauchman (19). SB: Ramírez (26), Schneemann (6), Santana (6). SF: Vargas, Rojas. S: Teel, Meidroth. DP: Cleveland 2; Chicago 1.
Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Williams 5 4 3 3 5 5 3.70
Sabrowski 12/3 0 0 0 2 1 1.42
Festa 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 5.19
Sewald 2/3 1 1 0 2 0 4.70
Enright 11/3 0 0 0 0 3 1.88
Allard, L, 2-1 11/3 1 1 0 2 0 2.45
Chicago IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Cannon 5 3 2 2 3 5 4.44
Leasure 2/3 2 1 1 1 0 4.36
Gilbert 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 3.20
G.Taylor 1 3 1 1 0 2 4.40
Eisert 1 0 0 0 0 1 4.81
Vasil, W, 4-3 3 0 0 0 3 2 2.47
Inherited runners-scored: Sabrowski 1-0, Festa 1-0, Enright 2-0, Gilbert 2-0. IBB: off Cannon (Ramírez), off Allard (Robert), off Allard (M.Taylor). HBP: Cannon (Schneemann), Vasil (Ramírez). WP: Vasil. PB: Teel 2(4). T: 3:40. Att.: 25,084.
