ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday had X-rays taken of his left hand Friday night after deflecting a pitch headed possibly at his head during the early innings.

Holliday said the X-rays showed no structural damage and he "didn't even need ice" on Saturday. There was no lingering discomfort in the hand.

It was the second time in less than a week that he had been hit by a pitch on the same hand. In Washington, Holliday took a pitch off the meat of the hand right beneath the pinky. The pitch from Bronson Arroyo on Friday hit him flush on the back of the hand. He put up his hands as a means of defense against a pitch that sailed up and in.

"I'd prefer not to take one there (in the jaw)," Holliday said. "Any way to get on base that you can, right?"

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Jason Motte has yet to appear since returning from the disabled list on Monday, but that's not for lack of warming up. Twice in the past week the righthanded reliever has completed a warm up with intent of going into the game. On Wednesday in Houston, Motte warmed up to face Hunter Pence before the Cardinals elected to stay with starter Jeff Suppan. (Pence hit a three-run homer off Suppan that changed that game.) On Friday night, Motte warmed up again to appear in late innings. He did not get in the game.

Manager Tony La Russa the team has been cautious with Motte because he isn't too far removed from inflammation in his shoulder. The team doesn't want to warm him up twice for an appearance, so once he warmed up this past week he either got in the game then -- or didn't.

In both cases, he did not.

The plan was to be careful "early on here," La Russa said. "We've been careful with him as he's warmed up. I think it's been good for him. The next good thing is to get him in a game."

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La Russa said he spoke with backup catcher Jason LaRue in the past couple days. The catcher, according to La Russa, is feeling better but the symptoms of Post Concussion Syndrome have not cleared enough for LaRue to engage in anything active. La Russa expressed doubt that LaRue would be cleared for a workout or any sort of baseball activities in the near future, and likely not for the rest of the regular season.

"He's starting to see little differences," La Russa said. "He's starting to feel little differences in how he feels."

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