ST. LOUIS -- Eric Thames made one of the Brewers' most harrowing catches all season, but it came at a cost.
Thames exited Friday's 5-2 loss to the Cardinals in the middle of the third with right knee soreness, two innings after a hard collision with Lorenzo Cain on the warning track at Busch Stadium. He was limping significantly in the clubhouse after the game.
Thames, Milwaukee's starting right fielder on Friday, collided with center fielder Cain as the pair converged on Matt Carpenter's long fly ball leading off the bottom of the first inning. Thames made the catch and somehow held on when he smashed face first into the wall while falling to the dirt. His right knee hit the concrete wall under the padding.
"I knew it was going to happen," Thames said of the collision with Cain. "It was one of those balls where somebody has to take charge. You can't really hear each other. I just caught it. It happens. It's been a funny year."
He initially stayed in the game, striking out in the top of the second inning and then manning the outfield in the bottom of the frame. But Hernan Perez took over for Thames on defense in the third.
Asked about his availability for the rest of the series, Thames said, "I'll see [Saturday] morning. A lot of ice."