CLEVELAND -- While playfully making light of his own lack of speed, Cardinals star third baseman Nolan Arenado was incredulous as he tried to figure out how he jammed his right index finger on his body after reaching first base for the 1,900th hit of his career on Sunday.
Arenado, who also notched the 400th double of his career later in the game, was one of the heroes of the Cardinals’ 7-0 throttling of the Guardians to clinch a three-game sweep in Cleveland. However, he did have to leave the game in the eighth when the finger he injured in the third inning began to swell.
“I think it was when I tripped at first and I hit myself or something,” Arenado said after the Cardinals notched their 10th win in the past 13 games. “I think I misstepped a little early. I’m a little slow, and I try to get the front of the bag because that’s my only chance [of being safe] and I almost missed [first base].
“[The index finger] is a little swollen, and it’s kind of random. It’s OK now after we did some treatment. But it did get stiff as the game went on.”
Arenado doesn’t think the injury is serious and hopes he won’t have to miss any time when the Cards begin a three-game series against the Pirates on Monday. Following an off-day on Thursday, the Cardinals will be in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend for a critical three-game series against the rival Cubs.
The jammed finger was the only downer on a day when Arenado joined some of his likely Hall of Fame-bound contemporaries with a couple of impressive milestones. When he beat out the grounder in the third inning, he joined Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman, Andrew McCutchen, Manny Machado and Jose Altuve as the only active players with 1,900 career hits.
Then, in the sixth inning, Arenado recorded his 400th double and had to leg it out to third when Cleveland right fielder Johnathan Rodríguez misplayed a ball in the corner for an error. He is now one of five active players with 400 doubles, joining Altuve, McCutchen, Goldschmidt and Freeman.
“To be amongst those guys, it’s an amazing feeling, because they are some of the best in this game and some of the best to ever play,” said Arenado, who raised his batting average to .249 with two hits on Sunday. “It’s an honor to be up there with my boy [Goldschmidt], because he’s like a big brother. I’ve had a lot of help, and I’d thank a lot of people. It’s been amazing to go out there and compete.”