Adams forced to exit with right elbow soreness

DENVER -- In Wednesday night's 4-3 victory over the Rockies, Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams aggravated a right elbow injury he's been dealing with for more than a year.

Adams said he injured the elbow during his final at-bat in the sixth inning, and he was replaced at first base by rookie Brock Peterson in the bottom of the seventh.

"We've been doing treatment on it and it's been feeling good," Adams said, his lips pursed in vivid frustration. "Just that one swing tonight, that changeup off the end of the bat, is the one that did it."

He had season-ending surgery in August 2012 when he was still with Triple-A Memphis to clean up bone spurs in the elbow, officially leaving Wednesday's game with right elbow soreness. Manager Mike Matheny said Adams dealt with issues in the elbow earlier this year, but the first baseman said the pain was worse this time and made him unable to swing.

"This wasn't a surprise because he's had periods of it here for a while," Matheny said. "So we knew it wasn't something completely out of nowhere. We'll probably just have to get a better look and see exactly what we're dealing with."

Adams and Matheny both declined to predict whether he could play Thursday, but being as he could not swing a bat it seems unlikely he will return for the series finale at Colorado. Adams said the current plan is to keep getting treatment and see how it heals.

In his first full season in the Majors, the burly first baseman is hitting .271 with 14 homers and 45 RBIs through 98 games.