Heading into a new week in the MLB regular season, the St. Louis Cardinals will have some work to do if the postseason is still in the line of sight.
After a walk-off home run hit by Alec Burleson (the first of his career) to open the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis is still on the outside looking in of the NL Wild Card.
The NL Central title is almost out of reach, with the Milwaukee Brewers having a 17-game lead on the Cards. Making the final spot in the NL Wild Card, currently held by the New York Mets, is the most realistic situation. 5.5 games separate St. Louis and New York.
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Cardinals get injury updates on Brendan Donovan, Victor Scott, and Nolan Arenado
Before the series of their divisional series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, The Athletic's Katie Woo provided injury updates to multiple top bats that are on the injured list.
"Brendan Donovan is hitting off the tee. Victor Scott II is hitting and is hoping to progress to more routes later in the week. Nolan Arenado started a hitting program, will begin a throwing program this week. No timetables for returns for any of the 3," Woo posted to X.
Brendan Donovan has been out of the lineup since Aug. 13 after suffering a left groin strain. The lone All-Star on the Cardinals will look to hopefully return either this week or early next week.
Victor Scott got injured just days after Donovan, coming down with a sprained left ankle in the Cardinals' 12-8 loss to the New York Yankees on Aug. 16. He's expected to return before the end of the month.
Nolan Arenado hasn't played for St. Louis since before the MLB trade deadline. He was placed on the 10-day injured list at the start of August after coming down with a right shoulder strain. The eight-time All-Star has yet to get information on when he'll return to the field. MLB.com's Santos Perez believes that Arenado will go through a rehab assignment in the minor leagues.