Redbirds to place Berkman on DL

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The St. Louis Cardinals are set to place first baseman Lance Berkman on the 15-day disabled list with a left calf injury he aggravated chasing a popup.

General manager John Mozeliak said the team would activate utilityman Skip Schumaker from the DL in time for tonight's game at Pittsburgh. Schumaker was on a rehab stint with Triple-A Memphis and played center field Wednesday night, going 2-for-4.

Berkman said he took a bad step going after a popup, aggravating an injury that sidelined him last weekend. Rather than battle through it, the club felt it best Berkman take enough time to recover.

Before the Cardinals played the Reds on Thursday, manager Mike Matheny said Berkman was day-to-day with no change in his condition from the previous night. But Berkman thought after Wednesday night's game he'd need some time.

"It doesn't seem like it's going to be one of those that you can really push through," Berkman said. "It's certainly frustrating. I don't like missing time, I like being in there, being productive."

The 36-year-old Berkman was batting .348 with two RBI in seven games. He was not in the lineup Thursday against the Reds.

"I certainly thought it was manageable and it wasn't prohibitive," Berkman said. "I took a bad step on that popup and it really kind of aggravated it pretty good."

Rookie Matt Carpenter, who made the club because of Schumaker's injury, has started the other six games at first base. He entered the day batting .375 with one homer and was among the league leaders with 11 RBI.

Schumaker batted .283 last year in 367 at-bats with two homers and 38 RBI as the primary second baseman. Before he was injured in spring training, the team had envisioned him as a super utilityman who could also start at all three outfield spots.