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The out in foul territory this past weekend that landed Nolan Arenado in the laps of a family may have caught up with him Wednesday as back stiffness forced the Gold Glove winner from the lineup shortly before first pitch.

Arenado felt his back “lock up� while running and warming up before Wednesday’s series finale, manager Oliver Marmol said.

The team announced during the game that he was scratched from the lineup due to “back spasms.� The back pain lessened during the afternoon, and Arenado is considered “day to day,� the manager said. The Cardinals have an off-day Thursday, and they’ll travel later in the day to Washington, D.C., to open up a weekend series against the Nationals there on Friday.

After the break, the Cardinals will know more about Arenado’s availability.

Nolan Gorman, who was originally not in the lineup, took over at third base and hit sixth. He reached base in his first two plate appearances. He walked in the second and led off the fourth inning with a single in the Cardinals’ 5-0 victory against Pittsburgh.

Marmol described the location of the pain was the same area that Arenado crashed into foul territory and the fans in order to steal an out against the Mets during the Cardinals’ doubleheader sweep. Juan Soto popped up the outcropping of seats behind third base at Busch Stadium. Arenado raced toward the seats to make a back-to-home plate basket catch — and that carried him into the seats and into a family of four.

Arenado agreed that the protective netting that is now standard at ballparks throughout Major League Baseball adds to the willingness to attempt such a catch because he’s not just crashing into the seats without any barrier. The trickier part of the catch, Arenado described, was the low wall and being aware of that for the legs and knees.

He checked on the family and the two youngest fans after making the catch, and Arenado said he was able to give the baseball to the young girl in the seat right where he landed.

In the two games since making the catch, Arenado had two base hits and scored two runs. He takes a four-game hitting streak into his next appearance, and he’s hit .400 during that span to raise his season average to .256.

What’s next for Herrera?

The Cardinals are debating between the two most likely roster moves they could make as catcher Ivan Herrera nears his return to the majors.

Herrera continued his rehab assignment and went 2 for 6 on Wednesday afternoon for Class AAA Memphis. He spent the game at designated hitter, and he has also appeared at catcher while with the Redbirds. Herrera is recovering from a bone bruise in his knee, and the test remains how he feels running the bases, rounding the bases and cutting when he’s running. The report from his outing Tuesday was it’s “the best he’s felt.�

The Cardinals could opt for the straight swap of catchers, returning Yohel Pozo to Triple-A Memphis and activating Herrera to share the position with Pedro Pages. Or the Cardinals have discussed keeping three catchers. In 11 games since Herrera’s injury, Pozo has hit .316 with four extra-base hits and an .807 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). Either he or Herrera could be a right-handed option off the bench — a role currently held by Luken Baker.

Baker snapped a 0-for-9 streak with a pinch-hit double Wednesday.

The discussion is whether Baker would benefit from a stretch of everyday play with Memphis and if the Cardinals feel they need insurance with a third catcher.

“I’d like to see how Herrera comes out of the next couple of days before having to make a decision on that,� Marmol said.

Rotation downshifts, Matz in ’pen

With Thursday’s off day ahead of a nine-game road trip, the Cardinals reach their “save the date� from which they plotted their use of starting pitchers for the first 38 games of the regular season. The Cardinals shifted from a five-man rotation to occasional six-man rotation in order to give the starters consistent rest and proactively avoid wear and the injuries that disrupt April.

Steven Matz swerved as the swingman, sliding between relief role and starts, and he was back in the bullpen again Tuesday — and will be for the foreseeable future.

Matz pitched a scoreless inning in the Cardinals’ 2-1 victory Tuesday night, and he’s emerged as a left-handed high-leverage or setup option for Marmol. The outing Tuesday earned Matz his second hold to go with two wins and also a 1.00 ERA in two starts. Marmol said he and the pitching coaches are learning about Matz’s day-to-day recovery and availability “along the way,� and the lefty tested his arm Wednesday morning to see if he could pitch on back-to-back days.

Matz said after the win he was available if needed.

That fits the role he’ll continue to have, too.

He’ll be assigned as needed.

“We’ll stick with what we have at the moment until something pings us that we should veer from,� Marmol said. “Whether that’s rest or strategy.�