Cardinals hand ball to Garcia as search for Waino's replacement continues
ST. LOUIS -- Another left-hander will make his 2015 Cardinals debut on Thursday as they continue to look for a reliable option to replace Adam Wainwright in the rotation.
Manager Mike Matheny confirmed St. Louis plans to start Jaime Garcia in New York, a week after a strong outing for Double A Springfield in his second rehab start. General manager John Mozeliak says he's optimistic Garcia can provide a much-needed solution, despite a history of inconsistency and injuries.
"You think back to how he was throwing the ball early in spring training and he admitted that as he got deeper into camp it just wasn't working," Mozeliak says. "So that's sort of a test for me on where he is relative to that, and he's been very clear that he's been feeling much stronger in the ability to respond after he throws and so getting his pitch count up was critical."
Garcia threw 90 pitches and gave up just two runs in six innings to earn a win at Northwest Arkansas, his first at any level since last June. He elected to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery a short time later, and after a surprisingly quick return, shoulder issues shut him down again in spring training.
But Garcia says he's feeling better than he has all year and will be eager to get back on a major league mound, making him the third Cardinals lefty to start since Wainwright suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Neither Tim Cooney nor Tyler Lyons could make it past the fifth inning in four starts, though St. Louis won in Cooney's major league debut and in one of Lyons' three appearances.
Heyward leading off
The Cardinals will have another new face at the top of the lineup Sunday night against the Tigers.
Matheny says Jason Heyward understands the team needs to find someone capable of getting on base at the top of the order, even though he didn't particularly like batting first for the Braves a year ago. The right fielder still posted a respectable .343 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot and will be the sixth different player to fill the role for St. Louis this season.
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Four different hitters have been there the past five games, capped off by Randal Grichuk's 2-for-4 day in Saturday's 4-3 loss to Detroit. Matheny says second baseman Kolten Wong has looked better lower in the lineup, and center fielder Peter Bourjos went 0 for 8 in his past two games as a leadoff hitter earlier this week.
"I think if we have (Heyward) on base often, that's good for everybody, and just kind of watching some of his at-bats and I haven't seen really anything consistently," Matheny says. "I haven't seen a guy who's just trying to hit home runs or trying to just drive the ball and just trying to get on base."
The powerful left-handed hitter doubled in a pinch-hit at-bat Saturday and hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning of Friday's 10-4 loss to raise his season average to .252. He also has a team-best 12 runs in May.
Matheny says center fielder Jon Jay looked like he could settle into the leadoff spot before the Cardinals had to send him to the disabled list with wrist tendinitis Thursday. Although Matheny hasn't spoken much with trainers about the injury, he expects Jay to return shortly after he becomes eligible on May 26.
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