Cards place Berkman on DL again with knee injury

Berkman was hurt while stretching for a throw from shortstop Rafael Furcal on Justin Sellers' groundout in the second inning of Saturday night's 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Berkman will have an MRI exam Monday in St. Louis.

"First, I have to figure out what's wrong," he said before the finale of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. "And then once I figure out what the injury is, then they're going to have to tell me what to do. I'd like to reserve judgment until I get the results of the MRI back. If I was one or two years into my career, it might be a little more nerve-racking. But I've kind of been through the wringer before, so it's not that big a deal. But it won't feel great when we land at 5 o'clock this morning."

The 36-year-old switch-hitting Berkman, the NL comeback player of the year in 2011, is on the DL for the sixth time in his 14-year career. He had just returned to the lineup on May 13 after being sidelined for 21 games because of a strained left calf he aggravated while chasing a popup.

The Cardinals filled Berkman's roster spot by purchasing the contract of first baseman Matt Adams from Triple-A.

Berkman, a six-time All-Star, underwent surgery on his right knee in 2005 and on his left knee in 2010 while with the Houston Astros.

In Friday night's series opener, Berkman homered as a pinch-hitter against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth to tie the score, before the Cardinals lost in the bottom half on a bases-loaded walk. The homer ended his longest season-opening home run drought of his career after 40 at-bats.