St. Louis Cardinals fans relieved as MLB journo allays Nolan Arenado major injury fear after hand hit by pitch in WBC semis: "Thank you baby Jesus"

Team USA third baseman Nolan Arenado appears to have escaped serious injury after being hit on the right hand by a pitch in Sunday's World Baseball Classic semifinals against Cuba.

X-rays on the hand came back negative, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald.

If the report proves to be accurate, Arenado escapes becoming the second MLB superstar in as many days to suffer a broken hand. Team Venezuela second baseman Jose Altuve suffered a fractured thumb after being hit by a pitch in Saturday's World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.

Altuve, a multi-time All-Star with the Houston Astros, will be out indefinitely. However, Arenado, a superstar with the St. Louis Cardinals, appears to have avoided a similar fate. The good news had Cardinals fans looking skyward with appreciation.

Arenado was having a stellar game prior to suffering the injury in the bottom of the fifth inning. He went 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored to lift his batting average to .391 in six World Baseball Classic games.

However, the word "negative" did confuse a few baseball fans. For the record, "negative" is good when it comes to medical matters.

With several MLB stars having gone down to injury in both the World Baseball Classic as well as spring training, Cardinals fans thought for several breathless minutes that their third baseman was going to be the next in line of the walking wounded. Those fans are now breathing at least moderately easier again.

For many Cardinals fans, news of Arenado escaping major injury was far better than seeing shortstop Trea Turner launch two home runs in a 14-2 victory. After all, the MLB season is just over a week away, and the Cardinals may well be fighting for a playoff spot with Turner's Philadelphia Phillies.

Unknown if Nolan Arenado will play in World Baseball Classic championship game

Nolan Arenado #28 of Team USA runs from third base to score

Team USA advanced to the World Baseball Classic championship game via Sunday's win over Cuba. However, it is not currently known if Arenado will be available for Tuesday's title game.