(The Spread) – The St. Louis Cardinals currently share first place in the NL Central with the Milwaukee Brewers but they’ll have a tough time holding onto the top spot without their superstar first baseman.
Albert Pujols left Sunday’s game against the Royals after colliding with a runner at first base. A preliminary examination revealed that he had sprained the wrist, but the latest news is less comforting.
According to Ken Rosenthal via Twitter, Pujols has been diagnosed with a small fracture in his left wrist and will miss the next 4-6 weeks. The team has yet to confirm the news, but either way it does not look good for Pujols and the Cards, who have suffered a rash of injuries since starter Adam Wainwright was lost for the season in spring training.
Although they’ve won two in a row, the Cardinals are just 3-7 over their last 10 games. They just got one of their marquee hitters off the disabled list in Matt Holliday, but now it appears they’ll be without Pujols for over a month. It’s a huge blow across the board.
According to online sports book Bodog, the Cardinals started the day at 16/1 odds to win the 2011 World Series and 8/1 to win the NL Central Division. But if they start dropping fast without Pujols in the lineup, their odds are certainly subject to change. (You can check out updated MLB futures odds here.)
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