Adam Wainwright may be out for the season, but the St. Louis Cardinals still have the best pitching staff in baseball - and the best record.
Now, Jaime Garcia is back to try and earn a spot in the rotation.
Garcia takes the mound for the first time in 11 months as the Cardinals go for a third straight win over the New York Mets in the finale of this four-game set Thursday.
St. Louis' 2.72 ERA as a team and its rotation's 3.08 mark are the lowest in the majors, and that comes despite Wainwright suffering a torn left Achilles last month.
The starters have a 1.30 ERA while the Cardinals (27-13) have won three of four games, and Carlos Martinez went 6 1/3 innings while combining with two relievers on a four-hitter in Wednesday's 9-0 win over New York (23-18).
St. Louis is expected to activate Garcia from the disabled list for his first start since undergoing thoracic outlet surgery in July, alleviating numbness and tingling in his pitching arm and hand. The left-hander had a setback in his return during spring training after going 3-1 with a 4.12 ERA in seven starts in 2014.
He allowed seven runs in 8 2/3 innings over two rehab starts in the minors this month.
"If it doesn't work, next man. Who's going to take it? That's what it is right now," manager Mike Matheny said of finding a replacement for Wainwright.
Garcia is 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA in four career starts against the Mets, but he hasn't faced them since a victory in 2012.
Matt Adams had a three-run homer among his two hits Wednesday, and he's 4 for 10 in this series after going 2 for 33 in 11 prior games.
The Mets are trying to avoid a season-high three-game slide at home, and giving the ball to Jacob deGrom (4-4, 3.21 ERA) should help since he's 9-1 with a 1.32 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 75 innings over his last 11 starts there. The right-hander has won his last two games at Citi Field while yielding two runs and fanning 15 in 13 innings.
He gave up one run in six innings of Saturday's 14-1 win over Milwaukee and was also effective with the bat. DeGrom became just the second pitcher since at least 1914 to have three hits while batting eighth, driving in one run and scoring another.
DeGrom, last year's NL Rookie of the Year, is 5 for 8 in his last three games.
"We talk about it every spring," manager Terry Collins told MLB's official website. "We talk to the pitchers about doing the little things like handling the bat. I'm not saying get a lot of hits but put the ball in play, move runners along. Be able to bunt.
"Those things help you win games."
DeGrom's only meeting with the Cardinals came on the road June 16, when he gave up six runs and 12 hits before being pulled with one out in the fifth of a 6-2 loss. He allowed Adams to go 2 for 3 with a triple, while Jason Heyward is 3 for 6 lifetime against him.
Heyward is 6 for 17 with two homers and four RBIs in five games, connecting for a solo shot and a single Wednesday.
