No major injuries, Piscotty out of hospital

PITTSBURGH -- Cardinals outfielder Stephen Piscotty was released from Allegheny General Hospital on Tuesday, one day after he was knocked unconscious after a collision with center fielder Peter Bourjos.

Piscotty underwent a neurological exam and MRI on Tuesday morning, both of which came back negative. He was diagnosed with a mild concussion, and he will soon go through Major League Baseball's concussion protocol, but the Cardinals do anticipate seeing Piscotty on the field again this year. And it could be very soon.

"I think the good news is he probably will play again in the regular season," general manager John Mozeliak said. "I think the decision will be based on how he feels and what he wants to do as well. The game is about feel and timing, so if it makes sense to get him in and he feels up to it, I think we would probably do it."

Mozeliak said that Tuesday's exams were administered as a follow-up to the series of scans Piscotty had on Monday evening, which showed no fractures to his neck, face and head. After being discharged from the hospital, Piscotty returned to the team hotel for the evening. He has been given clearance to fly with the team to Atlanta after Wednesday's doubleheader.

"For the doctors who had seen the collision out there, they were anticipating that he wouldn't do nearly as well as he did today," said manager Mike Matheny, who, for the first time, watched video of the collision on Tuesday afternoon. "He passed with flying colors. That's all good news with us."

Video: STL@PIT: Piscotty injured on Bourjos' diving catch

Mozeliak, Matheny, and several coaches and players visited Piscotty after Monday's 3-0 win. Piscotty had no recollection of the collision that landed him in the hospital, but he asked Matheny to share with him details of the game and how it was won. Other teammates went to the hospital on Tuesday, and Piscotty's father was able to travel into town after being kept abreast of his son's condition throughout the evening.

"I had no idea what to expect when I got there, and to see him with the energy and the fact that he had an appetite and was willing to talk about the events of the evening was just really amazing," Mozeliak said. "It was just a scary moment that I think a lot of people had a lot of things going through their minds when they saw it, and most people are probably thinking the worst. And to have him be the way he was, I think, was very lucky. It shows you when you have health and youth on your side, it's a good thing."

The incident occurred when Piscotty and Bourjos converged on Josh Harrison's fly ball to left-center. Crowd noise precluded both players from hearing each other, and as Bourjos made the catch for the inning's first out, his knee hit Piscotty in the face.

The impact knocked Piscotty out for several seconds, during which Matheny and several members of the training staff rushed to his side. Blood trickled down Piscotty's face, though he did immediately respond to sensory tests done to ensure he had not sustained a neck or spinal cord injury.

Piscotty was eventually transported off the field on a stretcher during a 16-minute delay and brought to a nearby hospital, where he remained overnight for observation.