St. Louis Cardinals 2B Matt Carpenter out of All-Star Game with oblique injury

The St. Louis Cardinals placed second baseman Matt Carpenter on the disabled list with a right oblique strain, and purchased the contract of catcher Michael McKenry from Triple-A Memphis.

Shortstop Aledmys Diaz was added to the National League All-Star roster in Carpenter's place.

Carpenter missed about a month with a similar injury four years ago and while coach Mike Matheny didn't offer an immediate timeline for Carpenter's return, he acknowledged it can be a difficult injury to overcome.

"I've felt that injury. I've seen it. It can be tough," Matheny said after Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh.

Carpenter, who clutched his side after a check-swing in the third inning, entered the game leading the National League in on-base percentage (.421) and OPS (.991).

"I know we have guys who can jump in and do it. The test is the fact we're just not playing the kind of baseball we want to play. That's it," Matheny said. "We're going to have guys go down. You never want to see it happen, you want to get them back as quick as you can, but when it happens, somebody else has to step up."

The Cardinals have lost their past three games to fall to 43-41 on the season, nine games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and three games out of the final Wild Card spot.

McKenry, 31, was signed by the Cardinals as a minor league free agent on May 27 after beginning the 2016 season with the Texas Rangers' Triple-A Round Rock affiliate. Since joining Memphis, he has batted .341 (28-for-82) in 24 games with five home runs and 20 RBIs.

National League All-Star manager Terry Collins of the New York Mets decided to add Diaz in Carpenter's place. As a rookie, Diaz is batting .319 with 12 home runs, 44 RBIs, 22 doubles, 54 runs scored, a .382 on-base percentage and a .534 slugging percentage. The 25-year-old ranks sixth in the National League in doubles and runs scored and seventh in runs scored.