NEW YORK — The St. Louis Cardinals were forced to make a late lineup change Tuesday night after All-Star right fielder Jordan Walker was ruled out with inflammation in his right knee ahead of their matchup against the New York Yankees.
Walker had originally been penciled in as the Cardinals’ No. 2 hitter but was removed from the lineup roughly an hour before first pitch. Nelson Velázquez took over in right field, while designated hitter Iván Herrera moved into the second spot in the batting order.
Following St. Louis’ 2-0 defeat, manager Oliver Marmol said the club is still evaluating Walker’s condition but is hopeful the injury is not serious.
“I’ll find out more when he comes in tomorrow, but just knee inflammation, day-to-day,” Marmol said. “Our hope is that he’s good to go tomorrow, but we’ll see what it looks like.”
Walker has enjoyed a career-best campaign in 2026, batting .285 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs. Last month, he added another milestone to his breakout season by capturing the MLB Home Run Derby in Philadelphia, defeating Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in the championship round.
The 24-year-old debuted with the Cardinals in 2023 and hit .276 across 117 games during his rookie season. He struggled over the next two years, posting a .211 batting average, before breaking out this season. Walker entered the All-Star break hitting .294 with 22 homers and 74 RBIs, though he has cooled off somewhat since then, batting .240 over 18 games following the break.
Leave a Reply