The St. Louis Cardinals suddenly have serious outfield concerns as injuries pile up

Stephen Piscotty and Dexter Fowler both went down with injury on Thursday night

The Cardinals fell to the Brewers on Thursday night (MIL 5, STL 4), but one could argue that wasn't the worst loss they suffered. 

After the second inning, Cardinals outfielder Stephen Piscotty left the game with a strained right hamstring. In the third inning, Piscotty's fellow St. Louis outfielder Dexter Fowler injured his shoulder after diving for a ball. On Friday, the Cardinals placed Piscotty on the 10-day disabled list. Fowler, meantime, is scheduled for a Friday MRI and could be the greater source of concern, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. 

In response, Cardinals have recalled outfielder Tommy Pham, who can fill in for Fowler in center. Randal Grichuk can also man center, but defensively he's better suited to left field. Jose Martinez can step in for Piscotty in right. In a pinch, the Cardinals can turn to Matt Adams, who's spent some time in left this year, or perhaps shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who saw his first outfield action on Thursday. In the minors, Harrison Bader is close to ready. 

There's some depth, yes, but this is still a blow. Piscotty on the young season has an OBP-heavy 104 OPS+ and projects better moving forward. As for Fowler, he's a skilled defender in center and rebounded strongly from his brutally slow start to 2017.