Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cardinals believe it is "possible, perhaps probable" that Matt Holliday (finger) will not return this season. Officially, Holliday has only been ruled out for the remaining three games of the series against the Phillies, but the Cards are worried that the inflammation in his right middle finger will keep him out longer than that. The outfielder will rejoin the club when it returns home Tuesday, but it's looking unlikely that he'll be ready to play then or anytime soon. The Cards have a capable fill-in in Allen Craig, but losing Holliday is obviously a big blow to their chances of catching the Braves for the NL Wild Card.

Matt Holliday (hand) is not in the Cardinals' Friday lineup. As expected. Holliday is unlikely to take the field for any of St. Louis' four games with the Phillies, but could possibly return on Sunday or Monday if he proves to be quick healing. In between a case of appendicitis, a lingering quad injury, a moth flying into his ear and now his hand ailment, Holliday has hit .295/.388/.528 over 120 games this season.

Matt Holliday will be shut down for the next 4-5 days due to inflammation in his right hand. The news arrives with awful timing for the Cardinals, who travel to Philadelphia this weekend for a crucial four-game series. Holliday won't return to the St. Louis starting lineup until next Tuesday, at the earliest, and could be in danger of missing the rest of the 2011 regular season.

Matt Holliday (hand) is out of Wednesday's lineup against the Pirates. Holliday left Tuesday's game with an injury to his right hand and is scheduled to be evaluated Wednesday in St. Louis. He speculated after Tuesday's game that he could be dealing with a "ligament or tendon problem," so we aren't optimistic about his status for the rest of the season. Allen Craig will make the start in left field Wednesday.

Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Matt Holliday (hand) "could be out most, if not all, the final two weeks of the season." Holliday left Tuesday's game in the ninth inning when he felt discomfort on the underside of his right hand while swinging the bat in the on-deck circle. "I'm concerned," said Holliday. "I've never done anything like before. You hope it's just a bruise or something and maybe it's a couple of days or a day." We'll know more when he is examined by a doctor when he returns home to St. Louis on Wednesday, but it's high time for fantasy owners to look for alternatives.

Matt Holliday left Tuesday's game in the ninth inning with a right hand injury. We knew something was up when the Cardinals pinch-hit for Holliday with Corey Patterson. He evidently felt the injury when he was taking practice swings on deck prior to being removed. The specifics of the injury aren't yet known, but the left fielder thinks he has "a ligament or a tendon problem." We should know more Wednesday, but Holliday will almost surely sit out at least one game with the quick turnaround before tomorrow's day game.

Matt Holliday ripped his 19th homer, a three-run shot, in Thursday's win over the Pirates. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle elected to intentionally walk Albert Pujols to get to Holliday in the sixth and lucked out when Holliday hit a screamer right at third baseman Chase d'Arnaud. He wasn't as fortunate in the eighth, though, as Holliday followed another intentional pass with a deep blast into the visitor's bullpen. It was his lone hit on the night and first homer in his last 16 games, but the stud outfielder still sports a nifty .307/.404/.546 batting line with 19 longballs and 67 RBI for the year.

Matt Holliday returned to action on Tuesday August 23.

Matt Holliday had the moth removed from his right ear shortly after leaving Monday's game. Holliday looked to be experiencing a serious amount of discomfort when he made his exit from the playing field, but he should recover fine. The Cardinals' medical staff first tried to lure the moth out by taking Holliday into a dark room, then decided to simply pluck the bug out with a pair of tweezers. The slugger is likely to be in the St. Louis starting lineup Tuesday.

Matt Holliday left Monday's game against the Dodgers in the eighth inning after a bug flew in his right ear. If only we were kidding. Silly as it sounds, Holliday appeared to be in severe pain as he left the field holding his ear. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts before leaving the ballgame. Assuming he gets the proper treatment, we expect him to be back in the lineup Tuesday.