ST. LOUIS _ The Cubs lost shortstop Javier Baez to a left elbow bruise Sunday night after he was struck by a pitch from Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty in the third inning and left the game.
Without Baez, the Cubs lacked firepower as they fell to the Cardinals 5-0 and missed a chance for their first three-game sweep at Busch Stadium since Sept. 13-15, 2010.
Baez was in obvious pain as he sat on the ground while trainer PJ Mainville attended to him. Baez was replaced by pinch-runner Addison Russell, who was charged with an error that led to the Cardinals' final run in the eighth.
Meanwhile, Baez was scheduled to undergo more tests as soon as Sunday night as a precautionary measure.
Baez leads the Cubs with 14 home runs and is tied with Anthony Rizzo for the team lead with 46 RBIs. If the injury is deemed series, this would alter Maddon's plan to keep his players fresh during a stretch in which the Cubs won't have a day off until July 2.
Triple-A Iowa infielders David Bote (.286, 11 home runs and 32 RBIs) and Mike Freeman (.261, 5, 27) would be candidates for a promotion if Baez is forced to be placed on the 10-day disabled list.
Starting pitcher Jose Quintana allowed two hits to start the sixth and was relieved by Anthony Bass.
Marcell Ozuna hit a grounder to deep short, where Russell tried to get the out at first instead of a force at third. Russell's throw was low and enabled Ozuna to reach safely.
Yadier Molina's double play scored Harrison Bader, and Jedd Gyorko followed with a hit into right center to score Tommy Pham.
Matt Carpenter tagged left-hander Brian Duensing for a homer in the seventh.
The Cubs wasted two scoring chances against Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty. Kris Bryant struck out on a 97 mph fastball with the bases loaded to end the third. Flaherty walked the first two batters in the fourth, and Russell walked with two out to load the bases, but Quintana took a called third strike to end the threat.
With the loss, the Cubs (40-28) remain one-half game behind the Brewers in the National League Central as they open a three-game series Monday night at Wrigley Field against the NL champion Dodgers.
