ST. LOUIS -- Tommy Pham returned to the top of the Cardinals lineup for Tuesday's opener of a three-game series against the Mets, healed from a minor groin injury that sidelined the center fielder for the better part of last week.
Pham started just one of the club's last four games after feeling tightness in his right groin late in a cold-weather win in Chicago last week. He passed a series of tests the following day and did not require an MRI, though the Cardinals and Pham want to treat the injury cautiously.
He was batting second in manager Mike Matheny's lineup on Tuesday.