Mulder Returns to Rotation
DOWNTOWN — Not to be missed amidst a quick burst of roster moves Sunday morning was a tall lefthander striding through the Busch Stadium outfield to do what he hasn’t done in nearly a year.
Mark Mulder was off to throw a bullpen.
Cast as a reliever in his return to majors after two years of rehab from shoulder surgery and several failed attempts to start again, Mulder is back in the rotation, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa announced Sunday. Mulder will start Wednesday in Philadelphia, his first start since last September and his one start before this summer’s All-Star break.
“He’s starter material and we have a spot in the rotation,” La Russa said a few hours before first pitch of the Cubs-Cardinals series finale. “He’s the guy who fits it best.”
The Cardinals opened a spot in the rotation Sunday morning by optioning out rookie Mitchell Boggs to Triple-A Memphis. Putting Boggs back in the minors and placing Brian Barton on the disabled list — with a hand injury — opened up roster spots for Joe Mather and Cesar Izturis. It also restored the Cardinals’ pitcher-player balance to 12 pitches and 13 position players. Mulder is listed on the lineup card as available from the bullpen Sunday, but he threw an extensive session in the ‘pen to prepare for Wednesday start.
Mulder got a total of four outs in two appearances as a reliever in the majors, and in his first save opportunity he got the first blown save of his career.
But during two rehab assignments in the minor leagues this season, Mulder started exclusively. He went 3-3 with a 6.55 ERA in seven starts. His finest work was down in the Double-A Texas League, where he went 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA for Springfield.
The Cardinals will take only one lefty reliever on the road, Ron Villone.
The lineup for today’s game against the Cubs:
- Joe Mather, LF
- Rick Ankiel, CF
- Albert Pujols, 1B
- Ryan Ludwick, RF
- Troy Glaus, 3B
- Yadier Molina, C
- Cesar Izturis, SS
- Todd Wellemeyer, RHP
- Brendan Ryan, 2B
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Derrick Goold told everyone he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but really after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was drawn to MU's primo location between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball inbetween. 
FYI … you have two RFs. But as always, thanks for the quick info.