By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | May 26, 2016, 10:49 pm CT
By Keith Allison / CC Image / No changes made
Update 5/27 at 9:05 pm CT:
Although not in the Cardinals starting lineup on Friday night, Adams took swings in the batting cage prior to the game and told Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest that his back was fine and he would be available to appear in the second game of the series.
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One of the Cardinals hottest hitters made an early exit from Thursday’s series opener in Washington, D.C., as Matt Adams left the team’s eventual 2-1 loss in the fifth inning after experiencing mid-back stiffness, the club announced.
The left-handed-hitting first baseman is listed as day-to-day and will be re-evaluated on Friday.
Adams first injured his back on a swing during an at-bat in the fourth inning, and while he singled in the at-bat and ran the bases without any issues, Cardinals trainers decided the 27-year-old would be best off exiting, MLB.com’s Alex Putterman writes.
After the game, manager Mike Matheny referred to the injury as “a little spasm,” while Adams said it “wasn’t allowing me to swing the way I wanted to.”
Adams entered Thursday’s contest hitting .458 with three home runs in the last nine games and .381 with four homers in the month of May.
Upon his departure, Brandon Moss (giving left fielder Matt Holliday a day off) moved to first base, while Jeremy Hazelbaker shifted from center field to right with Randal Grichuk entering the game in center.
