Phillies' Brignac placed on DL

ST. LOUIS - At first glance, the injury to Phillies third baseman Reid Brignac looked gruesome. During Thursday's 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, Brignac tried to leg out an infield hit and arrived at the bag the same time as pitcher Shelby Miller, who fielded first baseman Matt Adams' underhand throw.

Miller slid to tag the bag and Brignac also slid. He said there was not much room to touch the bag any other way. His ankle hit against the bag and Brignac writhed in pain.

Brignac suffered a left ankle sprain and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday, while third baseman Cody Asche was activated.

"It looked uglier than it was for both players," manager Ryne Sandberg said before Friday's game that was delayed 50 minutes by rain.

The Cardinals said Miller wasn't hurt on the play, other than suffering a few scratches.

Brignac, a career utility player who didn't make the Phillies team out of spring training, has become a major contributor, especially since Asche went on the disabled list on May 23 with a left hamstring strain.

After entering the season with one walk-off hit in his career, the 28-year-old Brignac had two in two weeks with the Phillies.

He had a walk-off single during a 6-5 win in 14 innings against the New York Mets on May 30 and then added a game-winning three-run home run in a 3-0 win over San Diego on June 11.

And for good measure, Brignac's two-run double the next day broke a 2-2 tie in a 7-3 victory over San Diego.

"He was swinging a good bat, an aggressive bat and he gave us a lift at a time when we needed it," Sandberg said of Brignac.

Since being recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley on May 9, Brignac is hitting .258 with a home run and 10 RBIs in 74 plate appearances.

While that might not look Ruthian, consider that he entered the season a .221 hitter in stints with Tampa Bay, Colorado and the New York Yankees.

"I definitely feel I been taking advantage of my opportunities here," Brignac said. "The last couple of years I have kind of struggled offensively when I got my chances to play."

Last season was especially rocky. Brignac began with the Colorado Rockies and was traded on May 17 to the New York Yankees for cash considerations.

After hitting .114 in 17 games for the Yankees, he was released and re-signed by the Rockies as a minor-league free agent. Brignac stayed in the minors the rest of the season.

While there is no good time to get injured, this happened to Brignac during one of his best stretches.

"It's a bummer," he said. "I definitely have been swinging the bat well and contributing to helping the team score some runs and we have been winning a lot of games recently."

Brignac says he hopes he will be ready after the 15 days, but it's too early to tell. If it's any consolation, he said he had several ankle injuries, including one similar to this one while playing football for St. Amant High in Louisiana, where he was a wide receiver, so he knows how to deal with the situation.

All he can do is get treatment and maintain a positive attitude.

"There is nothing I can do about it," he said. "It has to get better and when I am healthy I have to be ready to play again and come back."