Piscotty could play before regular season ends, official says

PITTSBURGH _ Less than 24 hours after a violent collision in the outfield sent Stephen Piscotty to a local hospital on a backboard and silenced a ballpark, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak had one word to describe the diagnosis the team received.tmpplchld “Amazing,” the GM said.tmpplchld Amazing enough that the team thinks their outfielder could play again before the end of the regular season Sunday.tmpplchld Piscotty was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon after undergoing a second wave of exams that morning. Mozeliak said Piscotty met with a neurological specialists and was given an MRI. The rookie did have a concussion as a result of running into center fielder Peter Bourjos during the seventh inning of Monday’s victory at PNC Park. Per Major League Baseball protocols, Piscotty will have to go through an exam Thursday night or Friday in Atlanta.tmpplchld If he meets MLB’s criteria, he could play when comfortable.tmpplchld “I think the good news is he will probably play again in the regular season,” Mozeliak said. “There’s no reason to speculate (when) at this moment. The ultimate decision will be how he feels and what he wants to do as well. The game is about feel and timing (so) it makes sense to get him in and he feels up to it and I think we’ll do that.”tmpplchld Mozeliak, manager Mike Matheny, several coaches and a handful of players, including Bourjos, visited Piscotty in the hospital late Monday night.tmpplchld Another group of players was headed to the hospital to visit when they received word that Piscotty had been released. The Cardinals reached out to his family Monday night to give them an update on his condition, and on Tuesday morning his father had arrived to be with his son.tmpplchld Piscotty has been cleared to fly with the team to Atlanta.tmpplchld The scans taken Monday night and confirmed Tuesday morning showed no fractures of his head, neck, or face.tmpplchld Piscotty and Bourjos were both tracking a fly ball into the left-center gap during a scoreless tie Monday when they lunged for the catch. Bourjos caught the ball as his knee crashed into Piscotty head. Piscotty was knocked unconscious and had to be carted off the field.tmpplchld He did not remember the incident Monday night when asked.tmpplchld Matheny and the others were able to talk with Piscotty and tell him about the outcome of the game. The Cardinals won 3-0, scoring all of the runs in the top of the ninth inning.tmpplchld “I had no idea what to expect when we got there,” Mozeliak said. “And to see him with the energy and the fact that he had an appetite. He was willing to talk about the events of the evening _ that was really amazing. It was such a scary moment. I think everybody had a lot of things going through their minds. Most people are probably thinking the worst. To have him be the way he was is very lucky. When you have youth and health on your side it’s a good thing.”tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 St. Louis Post-Dispatchtmpplchld Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld