INSIDE PITCH
Cardinals rookie Joe Kelly, who may or may not have been pitching
for his spot in the rotation, blanked the Arizona Diamondbacks for six innings
Tuesday night before leaving in the seventh inning of an 8-2 Cardinals
win.
With left-hander Jaime Garcia working
his fourth, and presumably final, injury rehabilitation start Tuesday night at
Memphis (he
fanned eight in five innings), Kelly did nothing to hurt his chances of making
his next potential start on Sunday even though Garcia may yet get the
call.
Fanning six in 6 1/3 innings, tying
his longest stint as a major-leaguer, Kelly (3-5) was solved only for a two-run
homer by Arizona's Miguel Montero in the seventh inning.
Second baseman Skip Schumaker, who
helped Kelly by starting two double plays, including one a dazzling grab to his
left, said he isn't the manager but ...
"I love (Kelly) in the rotation --
he's making it really difficult on everyone to move him out," said Schumaker.
"When you're throwing 96 (miles an hour) with a good changeup and commanding
your slider, that's not a comfortable at-bat. We think the world of
him."
Manager Mike Matheny said it was "too
early" to say who would be the Sunday starter against Pittsburgh but praised
Kelly for being able to separate any anxiety about his status from being able to
complete his task.
"He's a competitor and you can't teach
that," said Matheny. "It's not necessarily in everybody who walks in that
clubhouse.
"Everybody has the distractions. This
is a great test for him and, so far, he's doing a nice job of it."
NOTES,
QUOTES
LHP Brian Fuentes is not
expected to return to the team this season after the pitcher notified club
officials on Monday that he had to attend to a personal matter at home in
California and would not be reporting to the ballpark. The Cardinals placed
Fuentes on the restricted list, which means he no longer draws a salary from the
club and is not on the active roster. To take his place in the bullpen, the team
promoted RHP Trevor Rosenthal from Class AAA.
Fuentes "said he is
dealing with some personal issues and that at this time he could no longer play
for us," general manager John Mozeliak said. "He chose not to be here (Tuesday).
When a player fails to report, your option is to release (him) or put him on the
restricted list. … I did not dig in on (the reason). He was not looking to share
exactly what was going on. I was disappointed, frankly. If you think back to our
trading-deadline strategy, he played into how we made decisions. To have it end
this way is definitely disappointing."
A spokesman for Fuentes'
representatives said, "It's family-related and there's no indication of when he
will be back."
Fuentes had a 9.00 earned
run average in five innings with the Cardinals.
LF Matt Holliday's 23rd
home run, a 437-foot, two-run shot to left in the fourth inning, was a milestone
of sorts. It was his 23rd homer, surpassing last year's total by
one.
CF Jon Jay extended his
hitting streak to eight games with a homer and a single. He is 17 for his last
32 (.531), and from his new spot in the batting order, leadoff, Jay is 11 for 24
(.458).
INF Matt Carpenter drove
in two runs with a pinch double in the eighth. He has knocked in 10 runs as a
pinch hitter, most by a Cardinals rookie in nearly 60
years.
1B Matt Adams, who hit a
couple of homers in an early season call-up by the Cardinals, won't play again
this season - he had a bone spur removed from his right elbow. Adams had 18 homers at Class AAA
Memphis.
By the
Numbers:
18-5 - Cardinals' record
at home since July 1.
Quote to Note:
"Anything hit out into
center field, I feel like there's a play on it every time. The ball could be
crushed, laced, whatever. He can lay out or climb walls to rob
homers."
- RHP Joe Kelly on CF Jon
Jay, who made another outstanding catch Tuesday night.
MEDICAL
WATCH
C Yadier Molina (sore
left hand and elbow) did not play Aug. 12.
1B Lance Berkman (right
knee inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list Aug.
3.
LHP Jaime Garcia (left
shoulder strain) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 6, and he
was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 16. After further examination, it was
determined that he has tearing in his rotator cuff. He threw 40 pitches from 60
feet on flat ground for the first time in a month July 4. He threw live batting
practice July 25. He began a rehab assignment July 30 in the rookie-level Gulf
Coast League, and he was slated to make four starts before a potential return to
the Cardinals in mid-August.
RHP Kyle McClellan (torn
labrum in right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list May 18 due to a
strained right elbow, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 30. He
threw on flat ground for the first time July 3, but he subsequently felt
shoulder pain. He had season-ending shoulder surgery July
10.
RHP Chris Carpenter (weak
right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26, and he
was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 10. He threw for the first time since
March on June 13 and then threw another 40 pitches on June 15. He threw to
hitters for the first time June 22 but then had a setback June 25 when he felt
renewed weakness in the shoulder. He said it felt better the next day, and he
had an extensive throwing session off flat ground June 27. On June 28, he was
told he has thoracic outlet syndrome, which can cause, among its effects,
weakness in one's shoulder. A July 2 bullpen session was canceled. He underwent
season-ending surgery July 19 to relieve thoracic outlet
syndrome.
Link to boxscore: St. Louis 8, Arizona 2