Craig progresses, takes BP with Cardinals

LOS ANGELES -- With a handful of teammates cheering and chanting his name as he stepped to the plate, Allen Craig took another small step forward in his rehab process on Sunday, when he took batting practice during the Cardinals' workout at Dodger Stadium.

It was the first time Craig had participated in outdoor BP since he suffered a Lisfranc injury to his left foot on Sept. 4. He has been hitting off a tee for a few weeks in order to help preserve his core strength and took swings in the batting cage on Saturday. On Sunday, he brought it outside.

All this work is being done with the goal of having Craig ready if the Cardinals advance to the World Series.

"We're continuing to progress," Craig said after Sunday's workout. "They have new challenges for me every day. We'll see how it goes. My swing feels pretty good. Obviously, it's not game speed. But there are things that I'll do over the next week or so to try and get ready if we can advance. We have to focus on this series first before we get too far ahead."

For the second straight day, Craig also did some jogging in the outfield. The Cardinals have said they will be cautious in pushing Craig too far, too fast with mobility work. The first objective would be to have Craig ready as a pinch-hitter/designated hitter in the World Series. Being able to play him in the field would be seen as a bonus.