For a time, it appeared that Ray...

For a time, it appeared that Ray Lankford had made a miraculous recovery from a torn rotator cuff on his throwing shoulder. But in Game 6 on Wednesday night, the St. Louis center fielder started on the bench for the third consecutive game and he’ll likely stay there.

Lankford pinch-hit in the sixth inning and was robbed of a hit on a diving catch by center fielder Marquis Grissom. He is one for 15 in the postseason.

“I could play him in the outfield if I had to, but he’s less than at his best,” La Russa said. “Even swinging, he doesn’t have his natural swing.”

La Russa wasn’t crying about the loss of Lankford, who had 21 home runs and 86 RBIs.

“The reality when you play in this league is that you have to be deep enough to play through problems,” La Russa said. “Very rarely do you escape something going wrong with your club.

“Our club is built around Ray playing, but he’s not available. I don’t want to dwell on it.”