The news this A.M. concerns Jon Jay, who is headed to the disabled list. Jay never did get to 100 percent after suffering a shoulder sprain in late April, when he ran into the center field wall. The discomfort got worse over the past week, and it particularly affected Jay’s ability to finish his swing. He and the Cardinals decided the best move now would be to give that right shoulder some time to rest.

Taking Jay’s roster spot is Shane Robinson, who has been gone for all of 48 hours. Sent to Triple-A on Sunday, Robinson played in one game with Memphis before being told to turnaround and return to St. Louis. He made it in time for this afternoon’s game. His luggage, however, did not. One of his first tasks upon arriving back in the clubhouse was to find a glove to borrow.

Carlos Beltran was “not completely ready to go,” manager Mike Matheny said. Beltran described his right knee as stiff and sore. The Cardinals anticipate Beltran returning to the lineup during the next series. He is available to pinch hit on Tuesday, if necessary.

UPDATE: Lance Berkman was scratched from the lineup just before gametime. Matt Carpenter takes his place at first base, and David Freese, who was initially out of the lineup, steps in to play third. No reason was given for Berkman’s removal. He just came off the disabled list two days ago after being sidelined more than three weeks with a left calf strain.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Rafael Furcal (SS)
2. Skip Schumaker (CF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (RF)
5. Lance Berkman (1B) David Freese (3B)
6. Yadier Molina (C)
7. Matt Carpenter (3B) (1B)
8. Tyler Greene (2B)
9. Kyle Lohse (RHP)

CUBS LINEUP:

1. David DeJesus (RF)
2. Tony Campana (CF)
3. Starlin Castro (SS)
4. Bryan LaHair (1B)
5. Alfonso Soriano (LF)
6. Ian Stewart (3B)
7. Welington Castillo (C)
8. Darwin Barney (2B)
9. Paul Maholm (LHP)

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You’ve likely already heard/seen by now that the Cardinals made a roster move this morning, releasing LHP J.C. Romero and filling his spot with RHP Eduardo Sanchez from Triple-A Memphis.

A few hours later, another bit of news: Major League Baseball named outfielder Carlos Beltran its National League Player of the Week. That was expected after the week Beltran has. He was simply fortunate not to be playing in the same league as Josh Hamilton, who had an historic performance last week.

Remember that tonight’s game begins at 6:08 p.m. CT, an hour earlier than usual. It will be televised on both ESPN and the usual FOX Sports Midwest.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Rafael Furcal (SS)
2. Jon Jay (CF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (RF)
5. Lance Berkman (1B)
6. David Freese (3B)
7. Yadier Molina (C)
8. Skip Schumaker (2B)
9. Jake Westbrook (RHP)

CUBS LINEUP:

1. David DeJesus (RF)
2. Tony Campana (CF)
3. Starlin Castro (SS)
4. Bryan LaHair (1B)
5. Alfonso Soriano (LF)
6. Ian Stewart (3B)
7. Geovany Soto (C)
8. Darwin Barney (2B)
9. Ryan Dempster (RHP)

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Not much of a surprise here, but Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran has been named the National League’s Player of the Week. Beltran went 9-for-25 with six homers, 13 RBIs, eight runs scored and 30 total bases in six games. He homered at least once in four of those games.

Beltran now leads the NL with 13 homers and is tied for the league-lead with 32 RBIs. This is the ninth time he’s won a weekly award (sixth time as an NL player).

Josh Hamilton, who had an historic week, took home the American League honors.

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The Cardinals have released J.C. Romero, who allowed nine earned runs on 10 hits in his last three appearances (3 1/3 innings). And yes, it had been as ugly as that line would suggest. Romero preceded that with eight scoreless appearances.

Right-hander Eduardo Sanchez, recalled from Triple-A Memphis, will take Romero’s spot in the bullpen.

Signed to a one-year, $750,000 contract last winter, Romero made the club as one of two left-handed relievers. Early on, the Cardinals used him primarily as a lefty specialist. With Romero gone, the Cardinals are left with one left-hander — Marc Rzepczynski, for the time being.

Romero, 35, has now been released in-season five times since 2007. The Cardinals are on the hook to pay the rest of his guaranteed salary.

In 14 games with Triple-A Memphis, Sanchez allowed 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits and 10 walks in 13 1/3 innings. He struck out 13. Sanchez did not give up a run in his last five appearances.

He made 26 appearances with the Cardinals last year, posting a 3-1 record and 1.80 ERA. Sanchez also saved five games.

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Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom, the most faithful ‘By Gosh’ blog reader around. No, I’m serious. It’s her homepage.

In addition to fostering my love for the game of baseball as a child, it’s special to know that she is still one of my two biggest fans (Dad, you know you’re the other). So much so that they have had to invest in the MLB TV package to get them through the baseball season. And really, Mom, your ability to flip back and forth between the White Sox (she’s from Chicago), the Braves (she lives in Atlanta), the Pirates (she adopted them during my time there) and now the Cardinals, is quite impressive.

I hope you have a special day that includes wins from the White Sox, the Pirates and, well, one of the other two clubs you take interest in. You are loved and appreciated and missed. Thank you for all you do!

***

On the baseball front, Lance Berkman has been activated from the disabled list this morning. Shane Robinson was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to make room for Berkman, who missed 20 games while on the disabled list with a strained left calf.

Berkman is in the lineup, playing first base. Allen Craig shifts into left field, allowing manager Mike Matheny to get Matt Holliday a day off. Holliday had started every game this season. Yadier Molina also has the day off.

Rafael Furcal enters the day with an 11-game hitting streak.

***

The Cardinals plan to honor the soon-to-retire Chipper Jones prior to today’s game. Also, look for several spots of pink on the field, as MLB continues its initiative to raise awareness for breast cancer. The lineup card is pink, as are the bats of several players. Jaime Garcia will even be wearing pink cleats.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Rafael Furcal (SS)
2. Jon Jay (CF)
3. Carlos Beltran (RF)
4. Allen Craig (LF)
5. Lance Berkman (1B)
6. David Freese (3B)
7. Daniel Descalso (2B)
8. Tony Cruz (C)
9. Lance Lynn (RHP)

BRAVES LINEUP:

1. Michael Bourn (CF)
2. Martin Prado (LF)
3. Freddie Freeman (1B)
4. Dan Uggla (2B)
5. Jason Heyward (RF)
6. Juan Francisco (3B)
7. David Ross (C)
8. Tyler Pastornicky (SS)
9. Tommy Hanson (RHP)

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There was plenty to digest last night, and for those who haven’t finished sifting through all the cardinals.com coverage from Friday, I’m going to help you out with a bevy of links. Therefore you can’t complain about not knowing where to find everything.

The main attraction on Friday night was the ceremony to retire Tony La Russa’s No. 10. That celebration, which you can read more about here, lasted close to 30 minutes and appeared to choke up La Russa near the end, when his silhouette and number were unveiled on the outfield wall.

There was quite the gathering of baseball personalities here, too, to celebrate along with La Russa. This piece served as a landing point for thoughts and comments from several former players and friends of La Russa. Players from the current Cardinals team weighed in on La Russa’s legacy, as well.

So, too, did Matthew Leach, who covered this team for the previous 10 seasons on MLB.com. Now working in New York City as a columnist, Leach provided a unique perspective on what it was like to cover La Russa every day for a decade. You can read that here.

A game was also played last night and it was a pretty intriguing one at that. Carlos Beltran continues to be the hottest player this month not named Josh Hamilton. He had four extra-base hits on Friday and his third multi-homer game in the last nine games. He’s driven in 20 runs already this month.

And in the notebook portion of the coverage, updates were provided on Kyle Lohse, Lance Berkman, Scott Linebrink, Yadier Molina, and David Freese.

Phew… hope you got all that.

***

And now, onto today.

Lance Berkman (for now) remains on the disabled list, though he is currently taking grounders at first base. That’s a good sign, as he did not participate in fielding practice yesterday. Matt Carpenter is also working out at first base with Berkman.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Rafael Furcal (SS)
2. Carlos Beltran (RF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (1B)
5. David Freese (3B)
6. Yadier Molina (C)
7. Jon Jay (CF)
8. Tyler Greene (2B)
9. Adam Wainwright (RHP)

BRAVES LINEUP:

1. Michael Bourn (CF)
2. Martin Prado (LF)
3. Freddie Freeman (1B)
4. Dan Uggla (2B)
5. Brian McCann (C)
6. Chipper Jones (3B)
7. Jason Heyward (RF)
8. Tyler Pastornicky (SS)
9. Brandon Beachy (RHP)

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The last time the Cardinals and Braves competed, it was for a Wild Card spot. The Cardinals obviously snatched that away from Atlanta, though (unlike the Red Sox), the Braves have so far bounced back nicely this season. The Braves enter the series with 19 wins. The Cardinals have 20. If the season ended today, both would be in the playoffs.

But tonight is much more than a matchup between two of the National League’s best. It’s a night to honor Tony La Russa, and there will be more than two dozen people from his baseball past here at Busch Stadium to take part in tonight’s ceremony to retire No. 10. To find out who is on that who’s who list, go here.

The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT, which means that first pitch will be pushed back considerably. The organization is shooting for a 7:25 pm start time.

La Russa’s No. 10 has been mowed into the outfield grass. The No. 10 placard has also already been put out on the bricks in right-center field, alongside all the other retired numbers.

Ironically, another No. 10 is also set to be honored this weekend. Unless the Braves and Cardinals meet in the postseason later this year, this will mark Chipper Jones’ final stop at Busch Stadium. Jones announced this spring that he is retiring at the end of the year. The Cardinals will recognize Jones on Sunday and will present him with a gift at that time.

***

A few updates from the clubhouse, though all of this will be written in much more length in the notebook:

• Lance Berkman felt some tightness pushing himself through running drills on Wednesday; therefore the team is taking precautionary measures and not activating him from the DL just yet. He could be ready to go this weekend. It also might not be until next week.
• Kyle Lohse said he is still feeling some tightness in his left hamstring but he still sounds optimistic about making his next start. Tomorrow will be key, too, as it is Lohse’s day to throw his normal in-between starts bullpen session.
• Yadier Molina is back in the lineup after being hit in the hand on Tuesday.
• David Freese is sitting out tonight, as Matheny wanted him to get a breather.

***

In case you missed them, let me direct you to a few story links from the last 24 hours:

• Here is a piece on Carlos Beltran, who, after trying so hard to distance himself from the expectation of replacing Albert Pujols, is outproducing the former first baseman.
• With Mother’s Day nearing (this is a reminder to those of you who may have forgotten), here is a look at some of the Cardinal families who have become parents for the first time over the past year.
• MLB.com columnist Barry Bloom got manager Mike Matheny to weigh in on the concussion debate, a topic that Matheny has plenty of knowledge about.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

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

BRAVES LINEUP:

1. Michael Bourn (CF)
2. Martin Prado (LF)
3. Freddie Freeman (1B)
4. Dan Uggla (2B)
5. Brian McCann (C)
6. Chipper Jones (3B)
7. Jason Heyward (RF)
8. Tyler Pastornicky (SS)
9. Mike Minor (LHP)

Follow me on Twitter: @LangoschMLB

Follow me on Twitter: @LangoschMLB

The Cardinals are calling Kyle Lohse’s injury a left hamstring strain, though the right-hander described the sensation as a “cramping” feeling on Wednesday. He first felt the pull while running from first to third on a fifth-inning single.

It was obvious that something wasn’t right when Lohse made an awkward lunge at third base at the end of that run. But that’s not when or where the injury occurred. It happened a few steps earlier. So why the awkward stop? Lohse was afraid that if he slid, he’d do more damage. Hence, he ignored the sign from third base coach Jose Oquendo to get down.

“I was barely able to make it in there,” Lohse said. “I felt like if I would have slid, something bad would have happened.”

He was safe, but it was immediately obvious that Lohse was having some discomfort. He convinced manager Mike Matheny and head athletic trainer Greg Hauck that he was good enough to remain in the game, and he did, indeed, pitch another inning.

Lohse was then removed for a pinch hitter in the sixth, when his spot came up with two runners aboard. It is worth noting, though, that Matheny said he was considering keeping Lohse in to pitch the bottom of the sixth had the top of the inning not been extended as long as it was.

That would suggest that the Cardinals weren’t seriously concerned about the severity of the injury.

“He had a short leash,” Matheny said. “We were ready in the bullpen as it was. His stuff looked the same [in the fifth]. It wasn’t really keeping him from finishing.”

While the initial read is that the injury is not serious, everyone will need to see how Lohse responds over the next few days before determining if his next outing is in jeopardy. Lohse said he “hopes” that the setback won’t affect his ability to make his next start.

He will benefit from having five days — instead of the usual four — before he is scheduled to take the mound again.

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Yadier Molina, as expected, is out of the lineup on Wednesday. However, he is cautiously optimistic that he’ll be able to return for the series opener on Friday. Additional evaluations revealed no fracture in his left hand, which was hit by a Mitchell Boggs pitch on Tuesday.

Molina did not participate in BP on Wednesday, as his hand is still a bit sore. Still, everyone is relieved with the diagnosis, which many feared would be much worse when the incident happened.

As noted in the story last night, the Cardinals do have some emergency options behind Tony Cruz. Matt Carpenter, Daniel Descalso and David Freese could all catch, if necessary. The preference would be to stay away from using Freese behind the plate, if at all possible.

According to this nifty MLB.com home run tracker, which I just discovered today, Carlos Beltran’s 460-foot homer on Tuesday night is the fourth-longest homer hit in the Majors this year. Travis Hafner’s 481-foot blast on April 15 remains the one to beat. Click here for the breakdown.

This will be the fifth time the Cardinals have had a chance to close out a three-game sweep. They’ve come up empty the first four times. If they are to complete this sweep, they’ll have the task of getting to a pitcher that no one on this club has faced before. Lefty Wade Miley is 4-0 in seven career appearances (four starts) at Chase Field.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

1. Rafael Furcal (SS)
2. Carlos Beltran (RF)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Allen Craig (1B)
5. David Freese (3B)
6. Tyler Greene (2B)
7. Shane Robinson (CF)
8. Tony Cruz (C)
9. Kyle Lohse (RHP)

D-BACKS LINEUP:

1. Gerardo Parra (CF)
2. Willie Bloomquist (SS)
3. Justin Upton (RF)
4. Miguel Montero (C)
5. Jason Kubel (LF)
6. Aaron Hill (2B)
7. Lyle Overbay (1B)
8. Ryan Roberts (3B)
9. Wade Miley (LHP)

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What set up as a potential pitchers’ duel last night turned into a slugfest in which the Cardinals scored nine times with the help of five home runs. The five homers were the most in a game by an NL team this season. The last time St. Louis hit more in a game was back on July 15, 2007, against the Phillies.

I’ll admit I didn’t devote an undivided attention to the game last night, as I was working on this piece for MLB.com. Still, I wasn’t too occupied to be impressed by another scoreless appearance from Victor Marte. It may have seemed like a footnote given the home run barrage, J.C. Romero’s meltdown and Lance Lynn’s sixth win… but what Marte did to stabilize the game in the seventh should not have been entirely lost.

To ensure that it won’t be, there will be more on Marte in tonight’s Cardinals.com notebook.

Also, manager Mike Matheny divulged that, before Romero crumbled in the sixth, the plan was to go to Kyle McClellan to pitch the seventh. McClellan hasn’t pitched on this road trip, and Matheny knew the righty needed some work. But when the Cardinals’ lead shrunk to one (and then was padded to three), Matheny turned not to McClellan, but to Marte.

Not sure if that speaks more to the club’s faith in Marte or feelings about McClellan.

Given the number of people who have asked, I think it’s also worth clarifying one last time that Lynn does not have rookie eligibility. Apparently this has been an argued topic among some fans.

From the Major League handbook: A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list).

Though Lynn threw only 34 2/3 regular-season innings, he does hit the (b) portion of that rule. Not counting his time on the disabled list, Lynn was on the Cardinals’ roster from June 2-10 and again from June 22 – August 10. Altogether, that exceeds 45 days.

Let that end any lingering confusion.

CARDINALS LINEUP:

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

D-BACKS LINEUP:

1. Gerardo Parra (CF)
2. Aaron Hill (2B)
3. Justin Upton (RF)
4. Miguel Montero (C)
5. Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
6. Jason Kubel (LF)
7. Cody Ransom (3B)
8. John McDonald (SS)
9. Ian Kennedy (RHP)

Follow me on Twitter: @LangoschMLB