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Bourjos given day off after getting banged up

PITTSBURGH -- A day after being spiked in his right forearm breaking up a double play and banging into the center-field wall to make a highlight-reel catch, Peter Bourjos said he was not feeling the effects of either. Nevertheless, manager Mike Matheny unplugged him from the lineup for Sunday's series finale in Pittsburgh.

Matheny explained his decision to instead start Jon Jay in center field as part matchup-based -- Jay entered 8-for-16 in his career against Pirates starter Charlie Morton -- but also to give Bourjos a day to recover.

"He's in there getting a workout, said everything feels pretty good," Matheny said of Bourjos. "I know going into today it would be a little sore."

Bourjos has started four of the team's last six games and is expected to continue to get relatively regular playing time for at least a while. As for his full-speed catch on Jordy Mercer's eighth-inning drive to the wall, it was still a topic of conversation a day later.

"It's up there," Bourjos said, when asked where it ranked among his career bests.

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, and follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB.
Read More: St. Louis Cardinals, Peter Bourjos