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St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Willson Contreras is held back by manager Oliver Marmol after he was ejected by umpire Derek Thomas during the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium.
Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Willson Contreras’ suspension comes at a bad time for the Cardinals
Contreras will need to begin serving the suspension Friday night. He’ll miss this weekend’s series against the Giants and Monday’s opener in Seattle. The Cardinals are 5.5 games back in the wild-card race. San Francisco has pulled within four games of a playoff spot after winning nine of their last 10. The Mariners are clinging to postseason position in the American League. These have the potential to be important games.
How will the Cardinals adapt without Contreras?
Nolan Gorman moves across the diamond from third base tonight against Giants’ righty Carson Seymour. The Cards kicked Thomas Saggese from second to third base. José FermÃn draws into the lineup at the keystone as the  No. 9 hitter. Contreras was suspended for an on-field violation, which means the Cardinals cannot replace him. They’ll play the next four games with a four-man bench while their opponents have a fifth position player with the expanded roster.
St. Louis made one additional move. Catcher Yohel Pozo returns from the seven-day concussion list, so the Cards optioned rookie infielder César Prieto back to Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals now have three catchers with Pozo returning to join Pedro Pages and rookie Jimmy Crooks. That might only be the arrangement through the weekend. Katie Woo of The Athletic notes that outfielder Alec Burleson is expected to be activated from the injured list when first eligible on Monday.
