St. Louis Cardinals OF Nathan Church Exits Early vs. Brewers

The St. Louis Cardinals faced off against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon and lost a piece throughout the contest.

Cardinals outfielder Nathan Church was hit by a pitch from Brewers starter Brandon Sproat in the second inning of Wednesday's contest on his foot and struggled to move around afterward. He made it to first base, but clearly was in pain. He made it down the line, but eventually was replaced in left field by José Fermín in the top of the fourth inning.

Losing Church would be a brutal blow for a Cardinals team that already lost another piece this week to the Injured List in Ramón Urías. Church had a slow start to the 2026 season for the Cardinals, but has bounced back nicely lately. Since April 21, Church has been one of the Cardinals' best overall hitters. In 13 games, the 25-year-old has slashed .283/.291/.566 with an .857 OPS, four homers, 10 RBIs, and three doubles. Overall, he entered the day on Wednesday slashing .248/.278/.436 on the season in 32 games to go along with five homers, 16 RBIs, three stolen bases, four doubles, four walks and 14 runs scored.

The Cardinals Outfielder Was Forced To Leave Early

May 4, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church (27) catches a fly ball against the Milwaukee Brewers during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

One of the biggest questions for the Cardinals throughout Spring Training was who would be manning left field when the season rolled around. Church, Thomas Saggese and Fermín all made the club out of camp to help St. Louis in that area. Church has gotten the bulk of the work, though. If Church needs to miss any time, that will immediately turn the club's attention to Fermín and Saggese. Saggese actually was demoted down to Triple-A this week and then brought back up one day later with Urías heading to the Injured List.

If Church misses time, there are options down in Triple-A to consider to replace him as well, including Spring Training standout Nelson Velázquez and Cardinals No. 3 prospect Joshua Báez.

As of writing, the Cardinals haven't announced much about Church, aside from the fact that he was removed from the contest on Wednesday afternoon. Fortunately, the Cardinals have a few options who could replace Church if need be, but you never want to see a young guy hitting his stride get hurt. We're finally starting to see a version of Church that can contribute in the majors every day. Hopefully, the Cardinals don't lose that.

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