SEATTLE -- St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter has been put on the 10-day injured list because of a strained lower back.
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Carpenter was extremely ill over the weekend, taking three bags of intravenous fluids Sunday, and tweaked his back while laid up. The IL move is retroactive to June 29.
Shildt said this was not a long-term injury and that Carpenter could have been rushed back into the lineup for the San Francisco series this weekend. But the team decided to allow him to recuperate and gain back the weight he lost while sick.
Yairo Munoz started at third base and was St. Louis' leadoff hitter on the road against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. The Cardinals could have used Carpenter's bat against Seattle. He's a career .417 hitter against the Mariners and is the No. 11 active player in interleague batting average at .315.
