"Matt Holliday has been used in both of the Cardinals' last two games against Colorado as a pinch hitter, but wasn't in the lineup on Sunday. Still, with the two at-bats, Holliday is close to returning to the lineup for the first time since May 22 because of a strained left quadriceps.

"Make sure when we get him back, he's 100 percent," LaRussa told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Hopefully tomorrow. We'll get him back tomorrow or early [against] San Francisco."

The Cardinals start a four-game series against the defending World Series champions on Monday at Busch Stadium."