The St. Louis Cardinals' 2023 season has been plagued by unforeseen futility, injuries and even some brief clubhouse tension. Fans can now throw in a wild and disastrous first inning on the list of calamities. And another injury.

Things started out smoothly in Tuesday's home matchup against the Chicago Cubs, with starting pitcher Miles Mikolas retiring the first two batters he faced. Things broke down from there, though. Cubs' Ian Happ connected with catcher Willson Contreras on the follow through of his swing, per Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network.

He left the game, with the obvious concern being a concussion. Although it appeared to be an accident, Mikolas pitched Happ inside before then hitting him in the rear. St. Louis' ace was ejected from the game. Chicago rallied and put up three runs following a bases-loaded ground rule double from Christopher Morel. Yikes.

Batters hitting a catcher on their backswing is an issue that had previously come to light when multiple offender Marcell Ozuna thumped Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers in May. It is understandable that emotions would be high after a head-related injury, but Mikolas cannot put his club in such an unfavorable position. Reliever Dakota Hudson was forced to come in far earlier than he could have anticipated.

Willson Contreras and Ian Happ were Cubs teammates for six years and even shared an emotional embrace when they thought they had played their last home game at Wrigley Field in 2022 (trade rumors were running rampant). So, no one thinks Happ intentionally struck the man.

Perhaps Mikolas was just abiding by an old-school code. In any case, all it did was create another low light in a season full of them. Cardinals fans will anxiously wait for an update on their catcher's health status.