Knee swelling continues to hamper Yelich

ST. LOUIS -- The bruise Christian Yelich suffered on Sunday at Atlanta continues to keep the Marlins outfielder out of the lineup. The Marlins hope the 23-year-old will play this series against the Cardinals, but there is no guarantee.

Yelich smacked his right knee against the wall while making an attempt on Jonny Gomes' homer at Turner Field, and he hasn't played since.

"He still has the bruise," manager Dan Jennings said. "He's able to come off the bench for us if we needed him to pinch-hit. We just felt like it would be good to have him one more day. Hopefully get a little bit of that swelling he has, getting that out."

Yelich sports a sizable mark on the knee. An X-ray taken several days ago came back negative, but he has some swelling, which has hurt his ability to run.

The National League Gold Glove winner in left field in 2014, Yelich has been playing regularly in center field the past few weeks.

"He just has to be comfortable and able to run, especially if we have him in center field," Jennings said. "He's close, but he's not quite there."

Before banging his knee, Yelich had been on a roll, hitting .387 (12-for-31) over his last seven games. After a slow start this season, he's raised his slash line to .275/.343/.376 with six home runs and 29 RBIs.

With Yelich out, the Marlins have been using Cole Gillespie and Derek Dietrich in the outfield. Ichiro Suzuki has been playing mostly in right field.

There is a chance Marcell Ozuna, who has been at Triple-A New Orleans since July 5, will be recalled this weekend.