Lohse set for Monday vs. Houston
ST. LOUIS — The righthander’s impromptu bullpen Friday afternoon was enough of a tell that manager Tony La Russa dispensed with any clandestine chatter Saturday and announced Kyle Lohse as Monday’s starter in Houston. Lohse had been set to throw Friday, but because of his forearm issue and the Cardinals’ rotation machinations the right was replaced by John Smoltz.
He’ll return to the rotation on Monday to start the three-game series at Houston, and La Russa said Lohse will get three more starts this season. That’s three more chances to make his case to be part of the playoffs.
“We have real long memories and we remember what he did earlier in the season,” La Russa said recently. He added later: “Kyle is definitely in our plans. He’ll get a chance to pitch and he should get a chance to pitch.”
La Russa expounded on that Saturday afternoon.
“It’s hoping he’s healthy and he stays healthy,” the managed explained. “He missed some time, and that disrupted the natural flow of his pitching.”
The rotation for the upcoming series in Houston will be:
- Kyle Lohse on Monday
- Joel Pineiro on Tuesday
- John Smoltz on Wednesday
Then there is an off day, and that pits Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright – as expected — against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field late next week. La Russa said his plans stop at the off day, preferring to wait until Lohse pitches Monday before outlining when the righthander’s final two starts will happen.
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(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting 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 in between. 
Doesn’t look like it could be easily avoided, but it would be nice for Carp and Waino to NOT pitch against Colorado, if we have already clinched. No need for the Rockies to get a preview of the playoffs.
I agree with the TennCardFan. No doubt the guys need to pitch to stay sharp, but why give the Rockies a preview of what they may see in the NLCS.
Or is it that TLR hopes to psyche them out.
I could care less what the Rockies see. I want to beat them. Your best pitches with 2 weeks left, not time off. The Cardinals need to make a push too, play good consistent baseball. I like their chances. But I want them to beat the good teams. Everytime.
You all seem to be forgetting that these remaining two weeks still mean something, like trying to win the best overall record in the NL for home field advantage. If the Rockies are the best team they’ll face next week, lets have our best pitchers going after them.