Brendan Donovan out of Cardinals lineup against Cubs with groin tightness

ST. LOUIS (AP) — All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan was scratched from the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup on Saturday night due to tightness in his left groin.

Donovan was initially scheduled to bat leadoff against the Chicago Cubs. The team said the move was for precautionary reasons.

“(Donovan) felt some discomfort and overall soreness in his groin. I didn’t want to press through it,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after a 9-1 loss. “We can’t afford to lose guys at this point. So, he probably could have played through it if needed, but we’ll see how he comes in tomorrow. If it feels the same, we’ll give him one more day.”

Chosen as an All-Star for the first time this season as a reserve, Donovan leads the Cardinals with 115 hits while hitting .278 this season. However, he’s struggled in 18 games since the All-Star break, with a .188 average and three extra-base hits. He has only five hits in his last 11 games, all singles.

Donovan was replaced at second base by Thomas Saggese, and the Cardinals shuffled their lineup to move center fielder Lars Nootbaar to the leadoff spot.

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