The St. Louis Cardinals return to action is expected to be pushed back again.
According to Mark Saxon of The Athletic, the Cardinals three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates scheduled to begin Monday night in St. Louis is likely to be postponed.
The Athletic reported Saturday that Cardinals players have been told to shelter at home for the next three to five days.
It would be the fourth straight Cardinals series postponed following a coronavirus outbreak that has resulted in nine players and seven staff members testing positive.
The Cardinals had been cleared to host the Chicago Cubs this weekend at Busch Stadium after going three days without a positive test. However, the entire series was swiftly postponed Friday when three more members of the team tested positive.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak acknowledged Friday that he’s uncertain what the Cardinals future holds after it appeared the team had turned the corner.
St. Louis has not played since losing 3-0 to the Minnesota Twins on July 29.
The next possible return date could be Aug. 13 in Detroit. The Cardinals are scheduled to play a doubleheader that afternoon against the Tigers. However, if the team isn’t cleared to workout together or travel by Wednesday, those games could be in jeopardy as well. The Cardinals would then travel to Chicago for back-to-back three-game series against the White Sox and Cubs.
So far, MLB is hoping to make up every game that has been postponed this season.
Keep in mind, that was before the Cubs series was canceled.
If the Cardinals lose another series, there’s no conceivable way they can play 60 games.