Matt Carpenter Injury: Updates on Cardinals Star's Finger and Return

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter suffered a finger injury during Thursday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds. However, he will not miss any additional game action. 

Continue for more updates.

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Carpenter Active vs. Pirates

Friday, June 10

Carpenter is in Friday's starting lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest. 

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Carpenter Enjoying Strong Season for Cardinals 

He jammed his finger during an at-bat in the sixth inning of Thursday night's game. Manager Mike Matheny took him out of the game because he didn't know if Carpenter would be able to make the throws from third base to first, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Heading into Thursday night, Carpenter was one of the Cardinals' most productive hitters, as he was batting .280 with nine home runs and 39 RBI.

He is a two-time All-Star who led the National League in hits during the 2013 season with 199, which gave him a career-high .318 average. But his game has evolved since then. While his average has dropped, his power numbers have spiked.

Carpenter slugged a career-high 28 home runs last season, 17 more than his previous best from 2013. He also added a career-high 84 RBI and 44 doubles, which led the league.

Fox Sports' Dave Cameron delved into the evolution of Carpenter's play:

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Previously, Carpenter would yank one over the fence if you threw him a centered-fastball. This year, though, he's hitting fastballs up in the zone, plus hanging breaking balls and two-seamers running in on the inside corner. Carpenter has never really hit the inside pitch with authority before, but likely at the encouragement of his teammates, he has learned to turn on pitches inside and is now more willing to go after high-risk/high-reward pitches up in the zone.

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His durability has been another invaluable asset to the Cardinals. In each of the past three seasons, Carpenter has played in at least 154 games.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.