ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals expect pitching prospect Marco Gonzales to miss another three weeks with his latest shoulder injury.
General manager John Mozeliak says the left-hander showed no structural damage in an MRI and other tests during a visit to St. Louis on Tuesday. He's expected to stick around for more evaluations over the next week to 10 days to figure out how to deal with what Mozeliak deemed "an impingement."
"I think it's very good news, because this is something that can be managed and there's probably a few things that he needs to start doing in his daily routine to get him through this," Mozeliak says. "We'll make sure that he understands that and is compliant with that."
Gonzales will receive an injection to quiet some inflammation and Mozeliak says the club will have to rethink its strategies for maintaining the young pitcher's strength and stability. He suffered a similar injury April 22 and went to the disabled list with a strained pectoral muscle.
The Cardinals saw reason to believe Gonzales could be a factor for the big-league club in his third and final rehab start last Tuesday, when he gave up only one run on five hits to earn a win for Triple A Memphis. Gonzales went 4-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 10 appearances -- including five starts -- for St. Louis in 2014.
Cards hoping for repeat performance from Garcia
Manager Mike Matheny says the Cardinals don't need much more from Jaime Garcia on Tuesday than what he gave them in his 2015 debut.
The left-hander held the Mets to just two runs in seven innings last Thursday, giving the Cardinals a chance at a tough road win. But they couldn't score and the bullpen faltered in a 5-0 loss to New York and reigning NL Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom.
Leadoff walks in the first three innings left something to be desired, although the Mets didn't score until Lucas Duda walked with one out in the fourth and came around on a John Mayberry Jr. single. Garcia threw 102 pitches and said last Saturday in Kansas City that his arm felt just fine.
"He also gave some free bases, was able to get some groundball double plays to get out of it, but overall I thought the stuff looked good," Matheny says. "We just need him to continue to show signs of good health."
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That's always the biggest question mark for the injury-prone 28-year-old, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last July and went to the disabled list because of the shoulder again in spring training. But when healthy, he owns a 3.43 ERA in 97 regular-season starts for the Cardinals since the beginning of 2010.
Holliday goes for history
Matt Holliday could tie Albert Pujols for the longest on-base streak to start a season in Cardinals history Tuesday night against the Diamondbacks.
The left fielder will be looking to reach base for the 42nd straight game against Arizona and starting pitcher Archie Bradley. Pujols' streak also stands as the longest in the majors to open a season sine 2000.
"I think (Holliday)'s starting to understand what he needs to do for 35 (years old)," Matheny says. "He was very motivated, too. He's vocal about needing to get off to the kind of start like the finishes he's had, so I think a lot of it's been just by the will, too."
Holliday's .379 average in April was his best since hitting .389 for the Cardinals in 2011. His team-best .433 on-base percentage would be the best of his 12-year career through the season's first two months.
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