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A sprained ankle for their swiftest outfielder will challenge the Cardinals鈥� attempt this weekend to slow decisions about their active roster and buy time for Brendan Donovan to avoid the injured list.

Victor Scott II headed for exams of his left ankle late Saturday night after injuring the joint while chasing a home run by Aaron Judge 鈥� and nearly robbing it at the brink of the wall. Scott remained in the game for several innings after crashing to the ground before a twist out of the batter鈥檚 box forced him from the lineup and forced the Cardinals to confront their attempt to play several consecutive days with a short bench.

鈥淚f Vic can鈥檛 go, we have to do something,鈥� manager Oli Marmol said.

The Cardinals played the first two games of this visit from the New York Yankees with a de facto two-man bench due to Willson Contreras鈥� bruised foot and Donovan鈥檚 lingering toe and leg pain. Marmol said Contreras is expected to be ready and in the lineup Sunday for the series finale. Less certain is when the Cardinals can expect Donovan鈥檚 return, and if the pain lingers or they need a move to create time for Scott to recover an IL stint helps reinforce the bench.

Late Saturday night in the Cardinals鈥� clubhouse, Donovan told the Post-Dispatch he鈥檚 felt better with three consecutive days of rest, and he would like to avoid the IL.

鈥淚鈥檇 love to play in a couple of days,鈥� Donovan said. 鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 based off of what the team needs. I want to play. I don鈥檛 want to miss time. Unfortunately, this has been bugging me for a large portion of the season.鈥�

The Cardinals are calculating between the mandatory absence of Donovan for what would be nine games against the benefit of having him available for four or five of those games.

Scott鈥檚 injury came in the midst of a 12-8 loss to the Yankees at Busch Stadium that featured a brief, fleeting moment when the undermanned Cardinals wrenched back a three-run lead for their No. 1 starter.

Sonny Gray struggled throughout most of his five innings and had difficulty getting a feel for his pitches, as did several other pitchers on the hot, soggy evening.

Example 1: The decisive runs came in the sixth inning off Cardinals鈥� reliever Kyle Leahy, one of the most reliable arms out of the bullpen who allowed three runs, four hits, and did not record an out. Example 2: Yankees starter Max Fried (13-5) allowed seven runs, one more than Gray, and was bounced from the game in the sixth after allowing a home run, and he still won.

Example 3: The game had 10 extra-base hits, including six home runs by six different batters and three from each team.

The Yankees jumped Gray (11-6) for two runs in the first inning. But by the time Gray began the third inning, the Cardinals rallied to hold a 5-2 lead. Masyn Winn launched a cut fastball from lefty Fried into the left-field seats for a three-run homer that established the lead after Scott鈥檚 RBI single tied the game. Within two innings, Gray squandered the lead.

On his way to seven RBIs, Yankees first baseman Ben Rice crushed a three-run homer off Gray in the fourth inning to flip the game for good.

鈥淚 think it feels the same losing a three-run lead after you give up run and then your offense comes back and now you鈥檙e winning, 5-2,鈥� Gray said when asked about the offense being without Donovan and Contreras for a comeback. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think 鈥� no matter who is available or not available 鈥� that factors into anything at that point. That inning just really stunk.鈥�

The Yankees鈥� rally against Gray began in the third inning with Judge鈥檚 leadoff home run. The reigning American League MVP had 353 homers in his career and not one against the Cardinals until connecting for a ball that traveled 396 feet at Busch.

The pocket of Scott鈥檚 glove was inches away from greeting it there.

The Cardinals鈥� center fielder dashed to the right-center wall and timed his leap enough that the liner glanced off his glove and then caromed into the stands. Scott appeared to bang his knee against the wall and then landed hard on the warning track. He was met there by Marmol and a trainer. They put him through some stretches and a few sprints to see if he could continue playing. He did, and in the fifth inning raced deep into the left-center gap to steal extra bases from Ryan McMahon.

鈥淭hat shows a lot about his grit,鈥� Winn said. 鈥淚t sucks to see him leave that game early, but I鈥檓 glad to see that from our guys.鈥�

Said Marmol: 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to give you his best effort every time. Look at our style of play. I feel like all of our guys do. He鈥檚 been much better with his jump, his overall routes. Add (his) top speed to that and you have a really good fielder. 鈥� One of his last swings, when he was coming out of the box, (he felt pain in the) changing of direction there. Going and getting it in the outfield? Not so much. But the at-bat is what got him.鈥�

Veteran utility fielder Garrett Hampson replaced Scott in center and left the Cardinals with one healthy hitter remaining on their bench.

Contreras and Donovan were both unavailable Saturday, again.

Another injury or a longer game, and Marmol would have had to canvass the pitchers for pinch-hit options or fielders.

That is the cost of playing short.

It caught up with them on the scoreboard Friday night as they lost, 4-3, to the Yankees and could not capitalize on their crisp play against the Yankees鈥� raggedness. It caught up with them on the roster Saturday and left them discussing that night how long they may have to go without Scott and Donovan 鈥� and how long they can go without making a move to alleviate some restrictions on strategy and add at least one available option to the big-league bench.

鈥淲e鈥檒l figure it out,鈥� Marmol said.