St. Louis Cardinals Jaime Garcia expected to start against the Pittsburgh Pirates today – MLB News
As the St. Louis Cardinals brace themselves for Sunday’s encounter scheduled against the Pittsburgh Pirates, they are expected to insert the left-handed starter Jaime Garcia into the rotation. Garcia had last thrown on Tuesday for Triple-A Memphis.
In his appearance for Triple-A Memphis, Garcia threw 93 pitches wherein he had five-inning start, making it abundantly clear that he has regained his fitness, and form to pitch with more force and effectiveness.
It was the left shoulder impingement that prompted the St. Louis Cardinals to put him on the disabled list on 6th June after the diagnosis. A day earlier before the diagnosis, the starter had to leave the ballpark early, being able to pitch only two innings, giving up a total of six runs.
But as the Cardinals are competing the Pittsburgh Pirates to occupy the second position in the National League Central ranking, Garcia’s return will be an added advantage, significantly increasing the chance for the Redbirds to make it to the playoffs once again.
"I have some confidence back and I feel like my timing is where it needs to be with my pitches," Garcia said. "Most importantly, my shoulder is feeling good. When you rehab from a shoulder, it's tough to get the feeling back, the feeling of making pitches and trusting your stuff. It's a little more complicated than the elbow. But like I said, this start was definitely big for me to get some of that confidence back."
When he will pitch on Sunday, the starter is expected to toss at least 100 pitches, something that does not seem unlikely given the success of the player to regain his form. With 4.48 ERA this season, and 3-4 record, Garcia has now had the opportunity to undo what has gone wrong this year.
“It's tough to say that the team needs me because the starting pitchers have been doing an unbelievable job," Garcia said. "But I'm definitely really excited.”
Given the quality performance of the Cardinals’ other starters, Garcia’s hard work and support from the fellow starters will lead to strengthening of the Redbirds in the league.
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