ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals All-Star shortstop Aledmys Diaz got permission to leave the team to attend a private memorial service for childhood friend Jose Fernandez, the Miami Marlins ace who died in a boating accident Sunday in Miami.
Diaz flew Monday morning to Florida from Chicago, where the Cardinals finished their road trip Sunday night, and then got back to Busch Stadium midway through Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Diaz and Fernandez grew up on the same street in Santa Clara, Cuba. Fernandez had said that Diaz's father, Rigoberto, and uncle, Nelson, were instrumental in getting him to take up baseball.