By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter exited Saturday night’s game against the Brewers after just five innings due to left hip tightness, with Mark Reynolds taking over at third base. The team announced that his removal was precautionary.

“Yeah, just tight,” Carpenter told Brian Stull of St. Louis Baseball Weekly after the game. “Had trainers take a look at it and said that I had some blockage and something that kind of fired up, but nothing serious. I could’ve kept playing and feel like I could play tomorrow but we’ll see what happens.”

Manager Mike Matheny also emphasized the move was made out of an abundance of caution.

“Matt typically wouldn’t come out for what he felt had he not already had a few at-bats, and we had an opportunity to just be very proactive and cautious,” he said.

Carpenter revealed the tightness developed while he was at the plate Saturday night, but that he’s already received treatment and is not expected to undergo any further tests or an MRI.

The news comes just hours after GM John Mozeliak announced that starter Carlos Martinez would miss the rest of the season due to a right shoulder strain.

Carpenter entered play Saturday leading the Cardinals in doubles (41), runs (94), home runs (26), RBIs (82), and walks (79).

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Feature image used under Creative Commons from Keith Allison. Image cropped. Image licence.