Daily Dose: Wounded Birds

For a team in first place, the Cardinals have their fair share of storylines to watch over the season's final two weeks.

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The Cards won again Sunday, beating the Rockies 4-1 behind a nine-strikeout performance from rookie Marco Gonzales, but the news from the weekend focused more on three players dealing with injury, ineffectiveness or both. Because of that, it's unclear when we might see Matt Adams, Michael Wacha or John Lackey next.

Adams went 0-for-4 Saturday and sat out Sunday, and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said the decision to rest Adams had something to do with the oblique injury that plagued him earlier in the season.

"He takes a swing and misses, it looks like his whole body (falls) apart almost every time," Matheny told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We just kind of watch and you never know by what his reactions are, but he's been a little tight with the same sort of thing.

"But we had it looked at today and the trainers and doctors are all convinced there's just a little tightness in there but no structural damage, nothing that could even prevent him from coming off the bench today and pinch hit.

"It didn't look right yesterday. It looked like he was holding back."

That he could be available to pinch hit is promising, but with the Cardinals holding a 3.5-game lead in the National League Central they may play it safe at every possible opportunity with the first baseman. And it's a shame, too, as Adams was beginning to exhibit some power in recent days -- the 26-year-old was slugging .538 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI in his past eight games, and he had another homer taken away by Jay Bruce in Cincinnati. The hope is that having Sunday off and a scheduled off day Monday will give Adams the time he needs to get well and back in the lineup quickly.

The prognosis for Wacha is less promising. The right-hander had his start skipped Sunday after Matheny said Wacha didn't like "how the ball was coming out of his hand.

"It doesn't feel quite right and doesn't look right," Matheny said.

Wacha reportedly "felt great" after a 30-pitch bullpen session Sunday, a step in the right direction, but they still haven't given an indication as to when he might be back in game action. Between his struggles and a lack of stamina following the shoulder injury, it's tough to see Wacha providing anything useful for fantasy owners down the stretch.

Lackey is dealing simply with what he called "dead arm." In hopes of getting him stronger, the team will skip Lackey's scheduled start Tuesday in favor of Lance Lynn. Assuming he doesn't have a setback, it's likely we'll see Lackey in the weekend series against the Reds. How effective he is in the start is to be determined.

Shipping Up To Boston

Rusney Castillo watch may soon be over.

The Red Sox have attempted to get Castillo the maximum number of at-bats in the minor leagues before promoting the 27-year-old, but with Triple-A Pawtucket's season ending, one way or another, on Tuesday, the expectation is that Castillo will join the big club following Pawtucket's final game. That means the Cuban signee will likely be in Boston by Wednesday at the latest.

What he'll provide once promoted, especially over the season's final handful of games, is anybody's guess. In 10 postseason games in the minors, Castillo is hitting .297/.381/.405 with two steals, four doubles and six runs scored. He's also playing against competition that is nearly a decade younger than he is.

We've seen players with much more minor league experience struggle upon being promoted, but we've also seen fellow Cuban defects Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu find relatively quick success. The best way to approach Castillo appears to be wait and see: watch how he does in the season's final few games with an eye firmly on how he might fare in 2015.

Crushed

Though it happened Friday, Chris Davis' suspension bears repeating.

The first baseman was popped for testing positive for amphetamines Friday, costing him the rest of the regular season and, potentially, eight postseason contests. If the Orioles fail to make it that far, Davis will be suspended for the first few games of next season instead.

The suspension ends a wildly disappointing season for the 28-year-old. After a ridiculous 2013 season in which he posted video game numbers, Davis finishes the year with a .196/.300/.404 line and 26 home runs. Davis' stock is definitely down looking forward to the 2015 campaign.

National League Quick Hits: Speaking of video game numbers, Clayton Kershaw won his 19th game Sunday. The left-hander is 19-3 with a 1.70 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 219/28 K/BB ratio in 185 1/3 innings this season ... Drew Storen gave up two hits but escaped without harm Sunday, earning the save. He's now got five saves on the season, four of which have come since he took over as Nationals closer a week ago ... Ryan Zimmerman (hamstring) has progressed to facing live pitching in the instructional league. Zimmerman will need a handful of games to get back into game shape, but the 29-year-old could potentially return to the Nats' lineup before the end of the regular season ... Jonathan Papelbon lost his cool and lost the game Sunday, giving up four runs in a meltdown against the Marlins. Papelbon was eventually ejected -- after the damage had been done -- and may be getting a strongly worded letter from the league for his actions, which included an obscene gesture toward his own fans and a bump with umpire Joe West.

American League Quick Hits: David Ortiz left Sunday's game with a family emergency, flying back to the Dominican Republic. The nature of the emergency is unclear, as is how long Papi may be gone ... With Davis no longer an option, it was his replacement, Kelly Johnson, who came through Sunday. Johnson delivered a game-winning double to lead the Orioles past his former team, the Yankees ... Xander Bogaerts is putting together a strong final month, with Sunday's 3-for-4, four-RBI game as the latest statement. The shortstop is hitting .368 with three home runs in September ... Gregorio Petit, seeing his first major league action since 2009, launched a three-run homer that proved to be the difference in the win over the Angels. The homer was the second of the season and second of his career for Petit ... Jon Lester won his 15th game Sunday, shutting out the Mariners for six innings. It was the fifth time Lester has won at least 15 games in a season during his career ... It was a big afternoon for 21-year-old Luis Sardinas, who had two RBI doubles and four runs driven in overall for the Rangers. Sardinas is one of a handful of promising middle infield options for the club heading into next season ... Though the Twins prefer pitchers that throw 88 mph and rely heavily on BABIP, they surely liked what Trevor May did Sunday. The right-hander fanned 10 over six innings in a defeat of the White Sox. May has struck out 34 batters in 35 innings, a propensity the Twins will surely work to eliminate over the winter.