Bryce Harper, Didi Gregorius absent from the Phillies’ lineup Thursday after both were hit by pitches

One day after getting hit by consecutive pitches, Bryce Harper and Didi Gregorius are absent from the Phillies’ starting lineup for the finale of a four-game series in St. Louis.

It was not immediately known if Harper or Gregorius will be available to come off the bench Thursday. But the Phillies did not announce roster moves, including placements of either player on the injured list, prior to the game.

Harper got hit in the face by a 97-mph fastball from Cardinals reliever Génesis Cabrera on the first pitch of the sixth inning Wednesday night. He left the field without assistance but with blood smeared on his left cheek near his nose. Harper was taken to a local hospital for a CT scan. After the game, a 5-3 Phillies victory, he posted a video on Instagram in which he said, “Everything feels good. Face is still there. We’re all good.”

» READ MORE: Phillies beat Cards after Bryce Harper is hit in the face by a pitch

Cabrera hit Gregorius in the ribs with the next pitch. Although Gregorius stayed in the game, even hitting a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning and turning a key double play in the eighth, Phillies manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday night that the shortstop “probably might have to have imaging on his ribs” to rule out an injury.

In Harper’s absence, Roman Quinn will start in right field Thursday. Rookie infielder Nick Maton will slide over to shortstop, while Scott Kingery will play second base in his first start of the season.

Center fielder Odúbel Herrera, Kingery, and Quinn — batting in the No. 5-7 spots in the order against Cardinals left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim — are a combined 2-for-43 with 15 strikeouts so far this season. The Phillies are seeking their first series win on the road since last Aug. 25-26 in Washington and their first win in a series of at least three games since Sept. 17-19, 2019 at Atlanta.

The Phillies’ run-in with Cabrera puts Major League Baseball’s three-batter rule back in the spotlight.

While it was clear that Cabrera didn’t intentionally hit Harper or Gregorius to open the sixth inning, it was equally evident that he entered the game without any control over his upper-90s fastball. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said he would have taken the 24-year-old lefty reliever out of the game if not for the rule that stipulates each pitcher must face a minimum of three batters.

The umpires conferred after Gregorius got hit. But rather than removing Cabrera from the game, they ejected Girardi for arguing that the reliever be booted.

“That’s a failure of the three-batter minimum. It absolutely is that,” Shildt said. “Completely, absolutely, no doubt. But that’s an outlier of it. You’re talking about an aggressive young pitcher who’s throwing to one of the superstars of this game and wants to give him his best bolt. The ball got away from him, and unfortunately it got Bryce up top.

“We got [Tyler Webb] up immediately and would’ve figured out a way to get him into the game at that point. But that’s the rule. It led to Gregorius getting hit and just an unfortunate scenario.”

» READ MORE: Cards pitcher Génesis Cabrera apologizes for hitting Bryce Harper | Extra Innings

Girardi was already a vocal opponent of the three-batter rule. He spoke out against it once again Wednesday night, this time for health and safety reasons.

“If a guy hits a guy in the face and a guy in the ribs with two pitches, he’s got to go. Right?” Girardi said. “If you’re really protecting the players ... obviously, he doesn’t have command. He’s got to go. What if I got another lefty [hitter] up? We got two guys that are really hurt. And one that’s extremely scary when you get hit there [in the face]. It’s extremely scary.

“And you’re going to let [Cabrera] stay in the game? Is it because of the three-batter minimum? I don’t know. He’s got to go. Just for the safety of the players.”