Holliday goes back on 15-day DL with right quadriceps strain

ST. LOUIS (AP) Matt Holliday is back on the disabled list.

The St. Louis Cardinals placed the All-Star outfielder on the 15-day disabled list Thursday because of a recurrence of his right quadriceps injury.

General manager John Mozeliak said an MRI exam showed a grade 2 strain, and Mozeliak wasn't sure how long Holliday will be sidelined. He said tests indicated the injury was not as severe as the one in June.

''We're still very hopeful that he will be able to contribute this year,'' Mozeliak said. ''A lot will really be determined over the next week or two, and we'll see how it goes. When he was playing, you saw glimpses as to why he's important to this team.''

The Cardinals were 41-21 with Holliday in the lineup and 23-16 without their No. 3 hitter.

''When he was playing, you saw glimpses as to why he's important to this team,'' Mozeliak said.

Kolten Wong, a leadoff man with 11 homers, was shifted to third in the lineup in place of Holliday. Matt Carpenter batted first.

Holliday was hurt running to first base in the first inning on Wednesday. He missed 31 games from June 9 to July 16, and the Cardinals were 18-13 in his absence.

Mozeliak said he wasn't sure whether Holliday had tried to return too soon, noting the player ''passed all the tests to come back.''

Infielder Greg Garcia was recalled from Triple-A Memphis, and first baseman Dan Johnson was designed for assignment to make room on the roster for newly-acquired outfielder/first baseman Brandon Moss.

Garcia is making his second appearance with the Cardinals this season. He appeared in 12 games from June 19 to July 3, batting .417 (5 for 12) with a tying pinch homer on June 26 against the Cubs.

The 25-year-old Garcia was batting .299 with a .404 on-base percentage and 33 RBIs in 81 minor league games.