Hammy lands Waino on IL; Cards recall Helsley from Memphis
The batting stroke that Adam Wainwright proudly wields appears to have cost him.
Wainwright, a .199 batter with 10 home runs in his career, strained his left hamstring while legging out a double in the top of the fifth inning Sunday night against the Chicago Cubs. He left the game in the bottom half of the inning and the Cardinals placed him on the 10-day injured list Monday.
Wainwright, 37, is 5-6 with a 4.46 ERA in 13 starts (tied for most on the team) this season. He has pitched 70 1/3 innings (second on the team) and became the sixth pitcher in Cardinals history to surpass 2,000 innings pitched Sunday, when he took the loss in the series finale.
The right-hander missed 104 games in 2018 with right elbow inflammation.
In a corresponding move, the Cardinals recalled Ryan Helsley from Triple-A Memphis. The right-hander turned in two scoreless relief appearances against the Cubs over the weekend before being optioned to Memphis on Sunday when right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon was recalled from the Redbirds. Helsley now has been recalled to St. Louis four times this season.
Helsley, 24, has a 2.70 ERA in six relief appearances for St. Louis in 2019.
The team also announced Monday that right-hander Merandy González has cleared waivers and will be out-righted off the Cardinals' 40-man roster. He remains on the active roster at Double-A Springfield.
