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David Freese is out of the lineup for a second straight day, presumably still because of that cut he sustained when he was spiked by Norichika Aoki on Sunday. Freese told me yesterday that he felt fine hitting, fielding and throwing — but there was clearly some swelling around his right thumb. He was available off the bench last night but was not used.

Also, earlier today the Cubs claimed Minor League right-hander Eduardo Sanchez off waivers from the Cardinals. The organization needed to open a 40-man roster spot for Tyler Lyons (who will make his Major League debut on Wednesday) and in order to outright someone off that roster, the player had to first clear waivers. There is always the risk of losing that player when going through that process.

I have already had some readers email to ask why Sanchez instead of just moving to Jaime Garcia to the 60-day DL (which would take him off the 40-man roster)? Keep in mind that Garcia won’t be seeing Dr. James Andrews until Wednesday. There was no assurance that the Cardinals would know in time tomorrow exactly what the plan is for Garcia and whether he’s certain to miss at least 60 days.

Jake Westbrook just wrapped up throwing on flat ground for about 15 minutes. He did not throw off the mound as he said he had hoped to. That shouldn’t be considered a setback, however, as the fact that he threw at all today means that his elbow continues to respond well to the throwing program.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Matt Carpenter (3B)
2. Carlos Beltran (RF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (1B)
5. Yadier Molina (C)
6. Jon Jay (CF)
7. Daniel Descalso (2B)
8. Pete Kozma (SS)
9. Adam Wainwright (RHP)

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Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

The list of frustrations that Kyle Lohse has with the Cardinals is apparently growing in length.

He was bothered last year by the club’s lack of interest in talking to him about possibly returning to the organization. Then, in his first two starts against his former team this season, the new Brewer found himself outdueled by rookie Shelby Miller – essentially the pitcher who took Lohse’s place in the rotation. On Sunday, he was defeated by another rookie, John Gast. That dropped Lohse to 1-5 on a season where he has lacked run support.

But there was something else that frustrated Lohse, too, on Sunday. He was seen exchanging words with Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo after giving up four runs in the fourth inning. He came to bat in the next half inning and was began talking to catcher Yadier Molina. Lohse was asked afterward what was bothering him.

“They know what I had to say,” Lohse said. “It had nothing to do with the squeeze or anything like that. It was something that happened after that.”

While no one would get into specifics on the record, Lohse seemed to take issue to Gast squaring to bunt and then pulling his bat back on the second pitch of his at-bat. Gast was hitting immediately after Pete Kozma, who had dropped down a squeeze bunt to drive in the fourth run of the frame.

Manager Mike Matheny, when asked about Lohse’s public display of displeasure, chose not to offer much.

“It’s just competition,” he said. “That’s all.”

In three starts against the Cardinals this season, Lohse has allowed 10 earned runs in 18 innings.

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Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Several news items to come out of the Cardinals’ clubhouse this morning. You can read more on each in the cardinals.com notebook this afternoon, but here is a quick rundown so that everyone is caught up in the meantime:

• Manager Mike Matheny announced that left-hander Tyler Lyons will join the team in San Diego and start in Jaime Garcia’s place on Wednesday. Though the Cardinals had some potential fill-in options already on the roster (Seth Maness, Joe Kelly, Carlos Martinez), the Cardinals did not feel that any of those three was built up enough to immediately step in and start. Wednesday would be Lyons’ next day to start, so the Cardinals liked the fit. Remember, too, that with Jake Westbrook on his way back and an off day on Thursday, the Cardinals have enough rotation flexibility that they may only need one start out of Lyons.
• Speaking of Westbrook, he did begin his throwing program today. Three days after receiving a cortisone injection to target a build-up of scar tissue around his right elbow, Westbrook made about 25 throws from a distance of 60 feet. He’s scheduled to do the same tomorrow.
• Mitchell Boggs has returned from Triple-A and has been added to the Cardinals’ 25-man roster. Garcia has officially been placed on the DL. Boggs was adamant that he is in a better place after a short demotion and said that today feels like the start of a new season for him.
• Chris Carpenter said that his arm responded well to his extended bullpen session on Saturday. That means he’ll continue to move forward with his program, which has him throwing a short side on Monday and four simulated innings on Thursday. The next step will be announced after Thursday’s throwing session.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Matt Carpenter (2B)
2. Carlos Beltran (RF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (1B)
5. Yadier Molina (C)
6. Jon Jay (CF)
7. David Freese (3B)
8. Pete Kozma (SS)
9. John Gast (LHP)

(more…)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

A left shoulder strain has landed left-hander Jaime Garcia on the disabled list and has the Cardinals concerned that surgery may be the necessary in order to correct a shoulder impingement that has been bothering Garcia for the past 12 months.

This same injury sidelined Garcia for a little more than two months last summer and then forced him off the playoff roster in October. At that time, Garcia considered addressing the issue with surgery before eventually deciding to try a rehab course instead.

He reported to Spring Training without limitation and made his first five starts of the season without any discomfort. Though he pitched eight strong innings in a May 5 win against the Brewers, it was that day, he said, that he first felt something wrong in his shoulder.

He made two more starts – including one last night in which he allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings – before it was determined that he could no longer pitch.

“I would say at this point it’s worse,” Garcia said, when asked how the discomfort compared to what he dealt with last year. “There’s a lot more pain than last year. It started three starts ago. I was feeling great up until that point. I basically tried to take care of doing little things here and there and it went downhill getting worse and worse.”

An MRI taken on Garcia’s shoulder on Saturday came back inconclusive. He is scheduled to visit with Dr. James Andrews next week for another opinion. Because Garcia already tried the rehab route for this injury, the only option this time may be undergoing a procedure.

“I’m very concerned, especially with the way I felt last night and the way I feel today,” Garcia said of that possibility.

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Matt Adams has dented the starting lineup for just the second time since coming off the disabled list May 7. He went 2-for-3 with a home run off Milwaukee’s Marco Estrada back in April. Carlos Beltran — 1-for-8 in his career against Estrada — gets the day off. This will be Estrada’s third start of the year against the Cardinals. He lasted only 3 1/3 innings on May 5.

Lance Lynn is coming off a career-high 124-pitch outing earlier in the week. Manager Mike Matheny said that will not hesitate to push Lynn again today, but as we saw with Shelby Miller and Adam Wainwright earlier this week, the leash could very well turn out to be shorter than usual.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Matt Carpenter (2B)
2. Jon Jay (CF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (RF)
5. Yadier Molina (C)
6. Matt Adams (1B)
7. David Freese (3B)
8. Pete Kozma (SS)
9. Lance Lynn (RHP)

BREWERS LINEUP:

1. Norichika Aoki (RF)
2. Jean Segura (SS)
3. Ryan Braun (LF)
4. Aramis Ramirez (3B)
5. Jonathan Lucroy (C)
6. Carlos Gomez (CF)
7. Yuniesky Betancourt (1B)
8. Jeff Bianchi (2B)
9. Marco Estrada (RHP)

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Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

The Cardinals open a series tonight against the Brewers, whom they’ve beaten six times in seven tries already this season. Jaime Garcia made a start in each of those series, allowing a combined one run on 15 hits in 15 innings. He has a quality start in nine of his 11 career starts against Milwaukee.

Right-hander Jake Westbrook had hoped to resume throwing today, however recent tests on his elbow revealed that scar tissue was still an issue. As  a result, Westbrook received a shot in his arm yesterday to try and break up that scar tissue. That means he cannot resume throwing until at least Sunday. While he had hoped to miss only two starts, this small setback means it’s likely he’ll miss at least three.

More on his situation in today’s cardinals.com notebook.

Also, please give a welcome to associate reporter, Chad Thornburg, who will be assisting me with Cardinals coverage for the rest of the season. Chad recently graduated from the University of Illinois. You can follow him on Twitter: @cthornburg10, and you’ll see his byline on the site regularly this summer.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Matt Carpenter (2B)
2. Carlos Beltran (RF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (1B)
5. Yadier Molina (C)
6. Jon Jay (CF)
7. David Freese (3B)
8. Pete Kozma (SS)
9. Jaime Garcia (LHP)

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Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

With a win on Thursday, the Cardinals would secure their second four-game sweep… in the month of May. The first, you might remember, came in Milwaukee to open the month. The Cardinals last swept the Mets in a series of more than four games in September 1982, when St. Louis won every game of a five-game series that included a pair of doubleheaders.

As expected, David Freese and Yadier Molina return to the lineup. With a left-hander (Jon Niese) on the mound, Jon Jay sits in favor of Shane Robinson. Also, Matt Holliday is out of the lineup today, which gives Ty Wigginton a chance to make a start.

The Cardinals enter the afternoon game with the Majors’ best record and having won 12 of their last 14 games. It’s worth noting that the best three records in the NL right now belong to teams in the NL Central: the Cardinals (26-13), Reds (24-16) and Pirates (23-17).

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Matt Carpenter (2B)
2. Shane Robinson (CF)
3. Carlos Beltran (RF)
4. Allen Craig (LF)
5. Yadier Molina (C)
6. David Freese (3B)
7. Ty Wigginton (1B)
8. Pete Kozma (SS)
9. Adam Wainwright (RHP)

METS LINEUP: TBA

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Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

No one has forgotten what Shelby Miller did the last time on the mound. Now, it’s just time to find out what he has in store for an encore. Miller enters tonight’s start having retired 27 straight batters. The Major League record for most consecutive batters retired is held by Mark Buehrle, who set down 45 in a row in 2009. For Miller to reach that mark, he would have to open the night with six perfect innings. It’s certainly a long shot, but I wanted to put that benchmark out there anyways.

Yadier Molina caught Miller’s first seven starts this season, but he will not be behind the plate tonight. Tony Cruz gets his second start of the season. Molina has caught all but 11 innings for St. Louis this season. He leads the Majors in innings caught with 330 1/3. David Freese is also on the bench tonight.

On a separate coverage note, I will be hosting an hour-long Google Hangout on Friday (beginning at 1 p.m. CT) to interact with readers and answer questions. This will be my first Hangout experience, so please bear with me if there is a short learning curve. If you’re asking what on earth a Google Hangout is, you can read more about the concept here.

In the meantime, you can RSVP to the Google Hangout by going to this page. And even if you are not going to be available to participate in the live webchat, you can submit questions on Twitter by including #MLBHangout with your tweet. I look forward to trying out this new platform and interacting with many of you on Friday.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Matt Carpenter (3B)
2. Carlos Beltran (RF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (1B)
5. Jon Jay (CF)
6. Tony Cruz (C)
7. Daniel Descalso (2B)
8. Pete Kozma (SS)
9. Shelby Miller (RHP)

(more…)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Lefty John Gast will make his Major League debut tonight as a fill-in starter for the injured Jake Westbrook. Gast looked hardly frazzled by the Major League stage yesterday when meeting with reporters. He had a calmness about him this afternoon, too, as he sat at the end of the dugout watching his teammates taking batting practice. We’ll see if the nerves ever do actually surface.

Today is also the 25th anniversary of a wacky 19-inning game between the Cardinals and Braves that featured a four-inning pitching performance from Jose Oquendo, now the Cardinals’ third base coach. And for those of you not old enough to remember Oquendo as anything but a coach, no, he was not a pitcher. Here is a good recap of the game by Hardball Times.

One New York roster move to note: The Mets called up RHP Collin McHugh from Triple-A to take a bullpen spot. Righty Scott Atchison, who allowed all three batters he faced on Monday to reach, was placed on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Matt Carpenter (2B)
2. Carlos Beltran (RF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (1B)
5. Yadier Molina (C)
6. Jon Jay (CF)
7. David Freese (3B)
8. Pete Kozma (SS)
9. John Gast (LHP)

(more…)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

There was plenty of news while I took some time off over the weekend — from Shelby Miller’s phenomenal performance to Adam Wainwright’s worthy follow up to Jake Westbrook’s move to the disabled list. In conjunction with the latter, the Cardinals have also added lefty John Gast from Triple-A Memphis. Gast, who opened the season with a 32-inning scoreless streak, will make his debut on Tuesday when he starts against the Mets. He is here at Busch Stadium today.

This will be the Mets’ only visit to Busch Stadium this season — and the Cardinals have to feel fortunate that they’ll be missing young right-hander Matt Harvey, whose 1.44 ERA is currently the lowest among all National League starters. Right behind him on that list is Miller with an ERA of 1.58.

The Cardinals enter the series with the best record in the NL and having won nine out of their last 11. The good news doesn’t stop there, either. Chris Carpenter is throwing a bullpen session as I type, further substantiating his attempt to contribute to the Cardinals this season. Both Carpenter and the organization should have a better barometer of the right-hander’s status by the end of this homestand on Sunday.

Also, the Mets announced just a while ago that they had signed recently-released outfielder and former Cardinal, Rick Ankiel. New York is wasting no time getting Ankiel involved, either, as he will bat seventh and start in center field tonight.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Matt Carpenter (2B)
2. Carlos Beltran (RF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (1B)
5. Yadier Molina (C)
6. Jon Jay (CF)
7. David Freese (3B)
8. Daniel Descalso (SS)
9. Lance Lynn (RHP)

(more…)