It's a bad time to have the injury bug hit your team, but that's what's happening in the NL Central division. The top teams in baseball's most competitive division are dealing with injuries to key players and it could affect the postseason picture as September approaches.
At the end of June, the Milwaukee Brewers were 51-33 and held a big lead over the trailing Cardinals (44-39) and Pirates (42-40) in the division race. But Milwaukee hit a rough patch and went only 11-18 since June 29 and St. Louis (16-12) and Pittsburgh (17-13) hung in there over the past five weeks. Now the teams are separated by only 2.5 games in the NL Central, but the Brewers and Pirates continue to deal with injuries while the Cardinals made some key acquisitions at the trade deadline.
The Brewers announced yesterday that starting pitcher Matt Garza will be placed on the 15-day disabled list because of muscle strains in his rib cage. Although erratic at times, Garza has been solid this year with a 7-7 record and a 3.58 ERA in 23 starts. Having to replace a reliable starter in the rotation will rarely provide better results, but the Brewers have options with former starter Marco Estrada in the bullpen and Mike Fiers at Triple-A Nashville (8-5 with a 2.55 ERA). The team is also dealing with nagging injuries that have kept second baseman Scooter Gennett (quadriceps), shortstop Jean Segura (quadriceps), and outfielder Khris Davis (elbow) from contributing every day.
Pittsburgh faces similar woes. Andrew McCutchen suffered a rib cage injury on Sunday in Arizona only a day after he was beamed in the back by a 95-mph fastball courtesy of Randall Delgado, which many believe contributed to the damage. The reigning NL MVP could miss up to a month of action. The team activated outfielder Starling Marte from the DL just yesterday, who has missed nearly two weeks with a concussion. His minor league rehab assignments didn't go too well, so Pittsburgh doesn't know what to expect (1-for-12 with five strikeouts in three games). Additionally, one of the Pirates best pitchers, Gerrit Cole, has been out of action since July 5 with a straight right lat muscle, and he was obliterated in his first rehab start since landing on the DL. He lasted only 4 1/3 innings and gave up five earned runs on ten hits and one walk.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have had long-term injury issues with pitcher Michael Wacha and catcher Yadier Molina, but they made some noise at the trade deadline in acquiring pitchers John Lackey from the Boston Red Sox and Justin Masterson from the Cleveland Indians. They also recently called up top prospect Oscar Taveras on July 1 to play in the outfield full-time, and he's bound to improve as the year progresses. With a deep pitching staff and a healthy lineup, the Cardinals might be able to take advantage of the Brewers and Pirates injury woes and grab the division lead.
The playoff race is beginning to heat up, and the NL Central is at the forefront of the action. You can take a look at the standings on MLB.com.
