ST. LOUIS — Whatever crackle of elation the Cardinals carried out of Monday’s walk-off win and one inning into Tuesday’s game ended long before Willson Contreras pressed his left hand into his left side and exited stage right.

A disastrous game on the scoreboard became a reason to save the Cardinals' catcher some continued wear on his sore left hand.

In the fifth inning of what would become a 14-1 drubbing by the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium, Contreras grounded out to end the inning and, as he ran up toward first base, pushed his left hand into his left side. He did not return to the game, and rookie Pedro Pages, who initially came out without his knee pads on and was recalled to the dugout to get his gear, replaced Contreras. The Bally Sports Midwest broadcast showed Contreras removing the cap of a water bottle with his mouth, not his left hand.

The Cardinals catcher — and one of the few firecrackers of offense for the club — has been playing through soreness in his left hand after being struck on it during the team’s first road trip of the season. He was unable to catch during the team’s first homestand, and he was recently removed from a game when he had some discomfort in his catching hand. The decision was made midgame Tuesday to save Contreras wear on his hand by leaving the game.

Wholesale changes to the lineup were soon to follow.

Everyday players departed after the fifth inning.

The score was that ugly that early.

Arizona thumped three home runs in the first six innings of the game, including a grand slam off a reliever that widened that lead to 13 runs. Ten of the Diamondbacks’ runs came in the fifth and sixth innings, and former Cardinal outfielder Randal Grichuk had an RBI on his 1,000th career hit in the midst of the bonanza. For the first time since 2007, two different Cardinals pitchers, including starter Steven Matz, allowed at least seven runs.

In two of their past three losses, the Cardinals have allowed a dozen or more runs, and the starters in those two games have combined to allow 12 runs on 15 hits through their nine innings. That’s too much for a caffeinated offense to keep up. The Cardinals believed theirs finally perked up Monday.

Coming at the end of a sweep by the Brewers and ahead of Tuesday’s debacle was Monday’s walk-off win. It featured home runs by two of the team’s struggling sluggers, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman. A relieved clubhouse celebrated Gorman’s two-run winner in the ninth — a moment of elevation and elation for the team’s struggling offense.

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