Cards face Braves without reliever Norris (callus)

The St. Louis Cardinals were without veteran reliever Bud Norris as they opened a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves on Monday.

The right-hander has a callus on the middle finger of his pitching hand but hopes to be back before the series ends Wednesday.

"It's pretty tender," Norris said. "I just have to monitor it the next couple days."

Norris, 33, has had similar injuries throughout a career that started with the Houston Astros in 2009 and also included stints with the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels. This is the first time this year, though, that the skin around his nail has loosened.

This is Norris' first season with the Cardinals, and he has a 3-5 record with a 3.49 ERA, 28 saves, 19 walks and 66 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings.

He was removed by manager Mike Shildt in the seventh inning of Sunday 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers after allowing a walk and throwing a pitch to another batter.

"They were only asking me to get a couple outs, and obviously I wanted to be in that spot to help us out," Norris said. "It just kind of flared up on me, and that last sinker I threw, I lost feeling, and it was super tender. It was pretty bad."

With the Cardinals often utilizing Norris against left-handed batters, they could have problems matching up with the Braves, who have Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis, and Ender Inciarte in the middle of the lineup batting from that side.