Garcia ready to rejoin Cardinals' rotation
By THE SPORTS XCHANGE
NEW YORK -- There was a time when the St. Louis Cardinals thought left-hander Jaime Garcia might turn into the ace of the staff. Now, they would be content if he can follow in the footsteps of the rest of the rotation and become the No. 5 starter the team has lacked this season.
Garcia is scheduled to make his first major league start in 11 months Thursday afternoon, when he will be activated from the 15-day disabled list and take the mound for the Cardinals in the series finale against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
"We've got a pretty good little run here," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Wednesday afternoon, a few hours before right-hander Carlos Martinez earned the win with 6 1/3 strong innings in St. Louis' 9-0 rout of the Mets.
"How (well) Lance (Lynn) pitched (Sunday). John Lackey threw a beautiful game (Monday). Then Michael (Wacha) last night and hopefully Carlos just keeps going."
Lynn, Lackey, Wacha, Martinez and right-hander Adam Wainwright -- who made just four starts before sustaining a season-ending Achilles tear -- have combined to post a 2.83 ERA in 36 starts.
However, left-handers Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney combined to give up 11 earned runs over just 15 1/3 innings in four starts. That opened the door for Garcia -- who finished third in the 2010 National League Rookie of the Year voting and is 42-26 with a 3.50 ERA as a big-leaguer -- to try to earn his way back into the good graces of the organization.
"More than anything else, it was nobody else taking advantage of it," Matheny said. "We need somebody to shine."
Garcia last pitched for the Cardinals on June 20, 2014. He was placed on the disabled list with left shoulder soreness two days later and underwent surgery to repair thoracic outlet syndrome -- in which a rib was pressing up against a nerve -- on July 10.
It was the third major surgery for Garcia, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2008 and left shoulder surgery in 2013. Prior to Garcia's most recent operation, general manager John Mozeliak said Garcia has "been a hard guy to count on" and that he wasn't pleased with how quickly Garcia decided to undergo the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.
While Matheny was complementary of Garcia's resume Wednesday -- "When he's out there, he's good," -- he also made it clear the Cardinals, owners of the best record in baseball, won't have a long leash with the 28-year-old.
"It's a need," Matheny said of the fifth starter's spot. "But if it doesn't work, next man. Who's going to take it? Not to put any more on Jaime or anybody else, because we're real clear: You get an opportunity, make the most of it. And we'll just keep seeing what it looks like."
By THE SPORTS XCHANGE
NEW YORK -- There was a time when the St. Louis Cardinals thought left-hander Jaime Garcia might turn into the ace of the staff. Now, they would be content if he can follow in the footsteps of the rest of the rotation and become the No. 5 starter the team has lacked this season.
Garcia is scheduled to make his first major league start in 11 months Thursday afternoon, when he will be activated from the 15-day disabled list and take the mound for the Cardinals in the series finale against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
"We've got a pretty good little run here," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Wednesday afternoon, a few hours before right-hander Carlos Martinez earned the win with 6 1/3 strong innings in St. Louis' 9-0 rout of the Mets.
"How (well) Lance (Lynn) pitched (Sunday). John Lackey threw a beautiful game (Monday). Then Michael (Wacha) last night and hopefully Carlos just keeps going."
Lynn, Lackey, Wacha, Martinez and right-hander Adam Wainwright -- who made just four starts before sustaining a season-ending Achilles tear -- have combined to post a 2.83 ERA in 36 starts.
However, left-handers Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney combined to give up 11 earned runs over just 15 1/3 innings in four starts. That opened the door for Garcia -- who finished third in the 2010 National League Rookie of the Year voting and is 42-26 with a 3.50 ERA as a big-leaguer -- to try to earn his way back into the good graces of the organization.
"More than anything else, it was nobody else taking advantage of it," Matheny said. "We need somebody to shine."
Garcia last pitched for the Cardinals on June 20, 2014. He was placed on the disabled list with left shoulder soreness two days later and underwent surgery to repair thoracic outlet syndrome -- in which a rib was pressing up against a nerve -- on July 10.
It was the third major surgery for Garcia, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2008 and left shoulder surgery in 2013. Prior to Garcia's most recent operation, general manager John Mozeliak said Garcia has "been a hard guy to count on" and that he wasn't pleased with how quickly Garcia decided to undergo the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.
While Matheny was complementary of Garcia's resume Wednesday -- "When he's out there, he's good," -- he also made it clear the Cardinals, owners of the best record in baseball, won't have a long leash with the 28-year-old.
"It's a need," Matheny said of the fifth starter's spot. "But if it doesn't work, next man. Who's going to take it? Not to put any more on Jaime or anybody else, because we're real clear: You get an opportunity, make the most of it. And we'll just keep seeing what it looks like."
