Cardinals left field Matt Holliday (back tightness) was a late scratch from the St. Louis' lineup for Game 6 of the NLCS against the San Francsico Giants.
Cards manager Mike Matheny was obviously concerned with how Holliday's lower back tightness might affect his swing so he will be replaced by Allen Craig in left field. Rookie Matt Carpenter will also be inserted into the lineup to replace Craig at first base.
Right fielder Carlos Beltran, who usually bats second, will drop down to the three-hole with Carpenter taking over in the two-slot.
With the Giants facing elimination, this seems like obvious good news for San Francisco fans. Upon further examination though, it's unclear how much of a drop off the Cardinals take with the Holliday loss as Carpenter went 2-for-6 with three runs, a home run and three RBI in Games 3 and 4 as Beltran's replacement.
Holliday has gone 4-for-21 with no extra base hits and two RBI in the NLCS so far. The veteran batted .295 with 27 home runs and a time-high 102 RBI in the regular season this year.