CHICAGO -- Having already placed 10 players on the disabled list since the start of July, the Cardinals will be adding yet another on Friday after X-rays confirmed that Matt Holliday suffered a fracture in his right thumb.
Holliday was knocked out of an eventual 4-3 loss to the Cubs in the 10th inning on Thursday after a 94-mph pitch from Cubs reliever Mike Montgomery clipped his right hand. Unable to move his right thumb, which swelled immediately, Holliday was promptly replaced by pinch-runner Jeremy Hazelbaker and sent for X-rays.
Those pictures revealed a fracture, the severity of which the Cardinals expect to have a better feel for on Saturday after Holliday visits with the club's hand specialist.
"Those affect seasons," Holliday said of the high-and-inside pitch. "It's super disappointing [to get hurt]. But it's part of the sport, unfortunately."
Asked if he feared his season might be over, Holliday said, "I doubt it."
The scene looked similar to one that played out during the Cardinals' game in Miami on July 31, when rookie shortstop Aledmys Díaz was hit on the right thumb by an Andrew Cashner fastball. That pitch fractured Diaz's finger, and he's not expected back on the field until next month.
Diaz is one of nine players currently on the DL, none of whom are expected to return until the end of August, at the earliest.
"[You] always want all of our guys around," manager Mike Matheny said. "We have some young, talented players who are going to have to step in there and get the job done. That's all there is to it. There's going to be some opportunity."
It marked the eighth time this season that Holliday has been hit by a pitch, and the second time in three weeks that he had to exit the game as a result. On July 21, Holliday left after a fastball -- also from Cashner -- hit him in the face. Holliday returned to the lineup a day after that incident. That will not be the case this time.
"That's awful," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said after learning the severity of Holliday's injury. "I felt horribly about it, we all did. He's such a good player and important to them. That is bad news."
The Cardinals will make a corresponding roster move to add someone to the roster in Holliday's place ahead of Friday's game.