The Cardinals (40-33) are the better team on paper but they're walking in wounded. They split with San Diego, then went to Kauffman and got run out of the building 14-6 on Thursday. That's the kind of loss that lingers — the rotation has questions behind McGreevy and Pallante, and Liberatore's been wobbly enough that there's already chatter about a rotation shuffle. Ramon Urias is still on the 60-day with an elbow issue and Ryan Fernandez is rehabbing the back, so the bullpen depth isn't where they'd like it either.
- Day-To-DayA.J. Vukovich (CF) — no05/25
- Day-To-DayDerek Law (RP) — no05/21
- Day-To-DayKyle Amendt (RP) — Amendt was invited to major-league spring training by the Diamondbacks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann (C) — McCann (quadriceps) is expected to begin playing in complex league games next week, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.06/15
- developmental listJuan Centeno (C) — The Diamondbacks re-assigned Centeno to minor-league camp Friday.06/16
- 60-Day-ILA.J. Puk (RP) — The Diamondbacks paused Puk's (elbow) rehab Friday due to left shoulder discomfort, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.06/12
- 60-Day-ILCarlos Santana (1B) — Santana (thigh) began a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League on Friday, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.06/07
- 60-Day-ILCorbin Burnes (SP) — Manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday that Burnes (elbow) has been shut down from throwing after suffering a teres major strain, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.06/03
- 60-Day-ILCristian Mena (RP) — Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Monday that Mena underwent surgery on his right shoulder and will be sidelined for the rest of the season, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.06/01
- 60-Day-ILBlake Walston (SP) — Walston (elbow) paused his rehab program earlier in the season, but he was expected to start building back up around the middle of May, MLB.com reports.06/01
- 60-Day-ILJustin Martinez (RP) — Martinez (elbow) tossed a bullpen session Friday, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.05/09
- 60-Day-ILAndrew Saalfrank (RP) — Saalfrank (shoulder) said Wednesday that he expects to be sidelined 10-16 months, Arizona Sports reports.05/08
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse (SP) — Robberse (elbow) has been sent to the Cardinals' Florida Complex League affiliate to begin a rehab assignment.06/16
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton (RP) — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.05/14
- Day-To-DayVictor Santos (RP) — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson (SP) — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.05/08
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson (RP) — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.05/08
- 15-Day-ILRyan Fernandez (RP) — Fernandez (back) is on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.06/15
- 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.06/12
Stylistically this is a fun one. Arizona's an athletic, line-to-line offense that doesn't strike out a ton and runs the bases hard — exactly the kind of group that can make a shaky middle-relief night uncomfortable. St. Louis's edge is at home, where they took 2 of 3 from the Padres and where the Carroll-led lefty bats have to deal with a park that doesn't reward fly balls the way Chase Field does.
Stakes are real for both. The Cardinals are clinging to NL Central relevance behind Milwaukee, and the Diamondbacks are trying to claw back to .500-and-then-some in the NL West without their ace. Monday isn't a marquee night nationally, but it's the kind of June game that quietly decides which of these teams is buying or selling in five weeks.