St Louis Cardiansl @ Kansas City Royals - Game 44 open thread - May 24, 2015

Losers of three in a row and 10 of their last 17, the St. Louis Cardinals hope to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals in the Kauffman finale of the first leg of the 2015 interleague I-70 Series. Given last night's 5 1/2 inning game length before MLB declared the game over on account of rain and this morning dreary conditions, you'll be happy to know that the tarp is off in Kansas City. Whether they'll be able to get the whole game in without delay, however, appears to be an open question.

The tarp is coming off at the K! @Cardinals baseball coverage begins at 12:30 on @FSMidwest pic.twitter.com/9zJ4pGqm5I

— Pat Parris (@PatParrisTV) May 24, 2015

For those wondering about Jason Heyward's absence from the starting lineup for a second consecutive game against a righthanded starting pitcher, he reportedly is suffering from tightness in his hip. The right fielder Fox Sports Midwest's Pat Parris tweets that he might be physically fit to start tomorrow:

Sounds like another day and he could be ready to go https://t.co/hwsdF6AV2D

— Pat Parris (@PatParrisTV) May 24, 2015

The Cardinals Lineup:

1. Kolten Wong, 2B
2. Matt Carpenter, 3B
3. Matt Holliday, LF
4. Matt Adams, DH
5. Jhonny Peralta, SS
6. Yadier Molina, C
7. Randal Grichuk, RF
8. Mark Reynolds, 1B
9. Peter Bourjos, CF

Update:

Matt Holliday scratched from the lineup with a left-arm contusion.

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 24, 2015

The Cardinals Lineup Post-Holliday Scratch

The Royals Lineup:

1. Alcides Escobar, SS
2. Mike Moustakas, 3B
3. Lorenzo Cain, CF
4. Eric Hosmer, 1B
5. Kendrys Morales, DH
6. Alex Gordon, LF
7. Salvador Perez, C
8. Omar Infante, 2B
9. Paulo Orlando, RF