Piscotty hit 3 times in 1 inning, exits game

ST. LOUIS -- Stephen Piscotty's aggressive baserunning helped the Cardinals break through against the Cubs' Jake Arrieta in the fifth inning, but it also left the St. Louis right fielder black and blue and subject to concussion tests after the team's 2-1 loss on Tuesday.
The early prognosis was positive, manager Mike Matheny said. But it wasn't pretty for Piscotty, who was knocked out of the game after being hit three times on a treacherous trip around the bases that ended with him lying near home plate after taking a throw off his helmet.
Piscotty, who, through a spokesperson, said he would wait until Wednesday to address his status, was diagnosed with a head contusion and will undergo further testing to determine when he can return to the field.

He was able to walk off the field under his own volition after remaining on his stomach for at least a minute after Javier Báez's throw struck his helmet.
"The trainers asked him a lot of questions. He answered everything fine," Matheny said. "It just rung his bell, which we'll find out exactly what that means when the doctors give him a better test than us asking him questions on the field. He was coherent. We won't jump to any conclusions, but he seems to be doing OK."
"Probably the roughest turn around the bases I've ever seen," starting pitcher Adam Wainwright said afterward.
It began with Arrieta hitting Piscotty with a pitch near the right elbow. Piscotty then hustled to second on a wild pitch, only to be struck on the left elbow by catcher Willson Contreras' throw.
That put Piscotty in scoring position for Kolten Wong, whose soft, two-out grounder got past Arrieta and was bobbled by second baseman Baez. Piscotty, seeing an opening to take the extra base, sprinted home. Baez's throw hit him as he slid in safely to make it 2-1.
"The hit by pitch was unintended, but the play at second and eventually at home plate, it was just awful," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He's a really good baseball player and I understand why they gave him the contract they did. Hopefully, he's going to be fine."

The scary sequence came one day after Piscotty signed a six-year contract with the Cardinals, who wanted to secure the right fielder as part of their future core. And it comes 18 months after he was involved in one of the scariest on-field incidents in recent memory during a collision with then-teammate Peter Bourjos.
Randal Grichuk slid from left field to right to replace Piscotty for the final four innings. Matt Adams took over in left for the time in his big league career and handled all three fly balls that came his way.