They came into Wednesday night's game in last place in the NL West at 17-30 (the worst record in the majors), their ace Jake Peavy went on the disabled list the day before and things didn't get much better from there for the San Diego Padres.

The third inning turned a bad dream into a nightmare for the struggling Padres when Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit a line drive that drilled Padres pitcher Chris Young in the face.  Young went down and soon was covered in blood.  Young, with a blood-soaked jersey, had to leave the game and was taken to the hospital where it was determined that his nose was broken.

Two batters later, things got uglier when a close play at the plate resulted in a collision between Pujols and catcher Josh Bard.  Pujols slid into Bard's leg and Bard was the second Padre of the inning to have to leave the game with an injury, a sprained ankle.

While Young's injury looked more devastating, his immediate status was unknown and manager Bud Black said that he would be re-evaluated.  Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Bard who is headed to the disabled list.  While no official announcement had been made, Black stated that Bard was expected to go on the DL.

The Padres hope to have catcher Michael Barrett back sooner than expected.  Barrett is in the midst of a rehab assignment at Triple-A Portland and Black had previously stated Barrett would not return until he played at least five games there but the Bard injury could speed up the process.

Pujols was also psychologically shaken by causing the two injuries and left the 11-3 Cardinals rout early.  "I'm excited we got the win, but I'm kind of bummed.  Hopefully they don't lose Josh for a long time.  Chris, he's one of their best pitchers, it's kind of bumming right now.  They lose two guys.  You don't want any player to be getting hurt on the field," said Pujols to reporters after the game.