Report: Carlos Beltran won't start Game 4 of NLCS

Carlos Beltran will not be in the St. Louis Cardinals starting lineup for tonight's Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

https://twitter.com/dgoold/status/259021168340779008

https://twitter.com/dgoold/status/259021432372211712

Beltran left Game 3 on Wednesday after straining his left knee. His replacement, Matt Carpenter, hit a 2-run home run in the Cardinals' 3-1 win.

In a text message to Goold late Wednesday night, Beltran said he’d try to be in the Game 4 lineup after an MRI showed no structural damage to the knee. The 15-year MLB veteran's postseason prowess has been at the heart of the Cardinals' run at a second straight World Series championship.

Beltran has established a ridiculously high standard for postseason performance. His career numbers are, as they say, off the charts: 31 games, 138 plate appearances, .375 batting average, .486 onbase percentage and an .830 slugging percentage with 14 homers in 112 at-bats. Beltran has been the Cardinals’ best player this postseason, batting .400 with a .486 onbase pct. and .867 slugging pct. He’s homered three times, doubled five times, walked six times, scored seven runs and produced six RBIs.