It was the 10th time that St. Louis has been shut out this year, with nine of those coming on the road.

St. Louis finished a six-game road trip with a 2-4 record, taking both wins in extra innings. On Thursday, the Cards went quietly, managing four base hits against the Mets knuckleballer. St. Louis put pressure on Dickey in the ninth, forcing New York to turn to closer Francisco Rodriguez, but through eight innings, Dickey had faced two batters over the minimum.

Four baserunners were erased on double plays as Dickey induced 17 outs on the ground.

"He was on today," said Jon Jay, the only Cardinal who reached base twice. "His knuckleball, it was anywhere from 72 to 83 [mph]. He did a heck of a job keeping us off balance. He pitched a heck of a game today."

A day after the Cardinals jumped all over former Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, they could do absolutely nothing against Dickey. Not that they're alone in that, as Dickey has been the Mets' best starter for much of the season. Reinvented as a knuckleballer in his 30s, Dickey has been a revelation for the Mets.

"I think any time you face a knuckleballer, it's a different challenge, because you don't see a lot of them," said Ryan Ludwick. "He had good movement on the ball and every once in a while, you'd think you'd square it up and it would have late movement. He threw a lot of strikes with it."

Meanwhile, Hawksworth wasn't terrible, but wasn't especially effective, either. He allowed seven hits and three walks in six innings, including a mammoth three-run homer by Ike Davis in the third. Hawksworth had trouble getting the ball on the ground, and paid for it when Davis went deep.

Hawksworth threw a first-pitch changeup to Davis that was higher and more over the plate than he intended, and it left the yard.

"I was kind of set in the middle of fastball/changeup, just because all I needed to do there was hit a fly ball and get a run in," Davis said. "I kind of just set it up, and I wanted to make sure I stayed through it and not roll it over and hit a fly ball to center field."

Hawksworth considered Thursday's outing a step forward after a rough one in Chicago over the weekend, but the fact remains that he's allowed at least four runs in three straight starts. He was excellent in his first four starts upon being moved into the rotation, but things have been more difficult lately.

"I threw a few [changeups] to [Davis] the first at-bat I faced him," Hawksworth said. "It just stayed up a little bit and he put a good swing on it. Just one mistake. If I could have that pitch back, I'd love to. But I threw it with the right mindset, and that's all I can do. Sometimes they make you pay for it."

The second-year right-hander worked in more curveballs on Thursday than in some recent starts, but still leaned heavily on a fastball-changeup combination in the early going. It's possible that as more scouting and video gets out on Hawksworth, the two-pitch bread-and-butter approach may need to expand.

"It's one of my strengths with guys on," Hawksworth said of his changeup. "We got [Carlos] Beltran to fly out with one. It was feeling good today. I'm sure he was looking for something out over the plate, especially with guys on. He's got kind of a long swing, and it stayed in his wheelhouse and he crushed it."

The Cardinals have lost five out of seven since an eight-game win streak, and they have dropped 16 of their last 24 road games. St. Louis has not had a winning road trip since its first trip of the season, when it went 4-2 in Cincinnati and Milwaukee. The Cards trail the Reds by a half-game in the National League Central.

Baby Birds

Tidbits

NEW YORK — The Cardinals maintain interest in a starting pitcher, but the options may be dwindling.

With Roy Oswalt apparently off the market, reportedly on his way to the Phillies if he approves the deal, the top-line starting pitchers are now off the market. And the most appealing second-tier starters may not be available either.

Jake Westbrook has long interested the Cardinals, and Cleveland teammate Fausto Carmona has the kind of power sinker that always intrigues the St. Louis brass. But it appears that the Indians may not be dealing between now and Saturday's non-waiver Trade Deadline. Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro said Tuesday that his club is not a motivated seller.

"I would say that, compared to the past two years, there's no sense of urgency that we have to move anyone, there's no financial motivation or the need to create opportunities for anyone," Shapiro said. "We'll take a look at each individual case and the value we can get back, as well as alternatives that would get the playing time. Those things enter into the equation."

That's not to say that the Indians absolutely won't deal. But it does indicate that Cleveland won't be looking to sell veterans just to get rid of them.

St. Louis also holds interest in a potential offensive upgrade in the middle infield.

"Without getting into specifics about any one player or any team, you explore a lot of things," general manager John Mozeliak said. "You go down the road. Sometimes things work out and a lot of things, they don't."

Asked if the Cards have a bead on a pitcher, Mozeliak said, "[We've] got a bead on a lot of things."
No rest for weary, ailing with short turnaround
NEW YORK — Fully a third of the Cardinals' starting lineup is dealing with some sort of nagging injury, but all of the various wounded warriors are healthy enough to play.

Albert Pujols pulled up short on a ground ball in the 11th inning on Wednesday night with some calf discomfort. Yadier Molina continues to recuperate from a sore shin, the result of being hit by a foul ball. And Skip Schumaker is still sporting a welt on his left arm after being hit by a pitch in the 13th on Wednesday.

Yet despite the short turnaround from Wednesday night to Thursday's 12:10 ET start, all three regulars were in the lineup.

"This is a push game for a lot of people, including Albert," manager Tony La Russa said. "I don't think he's risking anything, but he's playing under control. You've got a lot of ouchy guys who are playing today, I'm sure, for both sides. … This is a day that we're scrambling."

Baby Birds
Joe Mather homered for the only run in Triple-A Memphis' 10-1 loss to New Orleans on Wednesday. … Andrew Brown hit a solo home run and Brian Broderick pitched 6 2/3 strong innings, helping Double-A Springfield beat Arkansas, 4-2. Broderick allowed two runs on seven hits, striking out five with two walks. … Charlie Cutler and Luis De La Cruz each had two hits in Class A Palm Beach's 4-3 loss to Daytona. … Joe Kelly struck out 11 in 6 2/3 innings, leading Class A Quad Cities to an 8-1 win over Kane County. Kelly allowed an unearned run on three hits, walking one. … Nick Longmire hit his seventh home run, driving in three runs in short-season Batavia's 10-3 win over Auburn. … Philip Cerreto drove in five runs, including the game-winner in the 14th, to help rookie-level Johnson City beat Burlington, 6-5.

Cerreto noses out Kelly for player of the day. He went 3-for-7 with a double, a home run, and the game-winning single. Cerreto, 22, was a 40th-round pick in last month's Draft. In 23 games for Johnson City, he's batting .361 with a .394 on-base percentage, a .670 slugging percentage, six home runs and 29 RBIs.

Tidbits
Manager Tony La Russa said Thursday that the team's field staff saw immediately on Wednesday night that new reliever Mike MacDougal was tipping his pitches, which explains a quick visit to the mound by pitching coach Dave Duncan in the 12th inning of the Cards' eventual win. … Thursday marked the 1,500th game of Albert Pujols' Major League career. … MacDougal will switch from No. 63 to No. 48 when the Cardinals return home on Friday. … Following Thursday's game, 27 of the Cardinals' next 36 games come against teams that currently have losing records.

Wainwright's offense remained quiet behind him, but the right-hander scuffled through his worst start of the year in an 8-2 loss to the Mets at Citi Field. Wainwright spent most of the night searching for his command and never really found it, and the result was the Cardinals' fourth loss in five games. They are now tied with the Reds atop the National League Central, though St. Louis holds a very slight edge in winning percentage.

"I definitely got some bad breaks, but I certainly wasn't commanding the zone like I normally do," Wainwright said. "I got in some counts that you never want to get into. There were some bad breaks for sure, but I just didn't execute, and poor execution leads to poor results."

Wainwright, pitching in New York for the first time since his famous strikeout of Carlos Beltran in the 2006 National League Championship Series, was reached for six runs in five innings. He saw a 26-inning shutout streak come to an end in the second frame, and from there was scored upon five more times. Wainwright issued three walks and surrendered a three-run homer to Jeff Francoeur and simply didn't locate the ball well all night.

It was the second-shortest start of the year for Wainwright, and the second time all year that he didn't complete six full innings. His only shorter outing came on June 24, when he allowed five runs (four earned) in four innings in Toronto. The last time he allowed six runs was Sept. 4 of last year, when the Pirates dinged him for six runs in five innings.

"They got a couple bloopers, but he missed his location a couple, three times and they nailed them," manager Tony La Russa said. "So give them credit."

Wainwright issued a leadoff walk to David Wright in the second inning, and a double and a groundout brought Wright home. He cruised through the third, but got into trouble in the fourth, once again starting with a walk. After a free pass to Beltran, Ike Davis singled, bringing up Francoeur. Hoping to pitch around him, Wainwright instead left a cutter over the heart of the plate, and Francoeur crushed it.

"I'm trying to walk him," Wainwright said. "I'm basically pitching around him. Not basically, I am pitching around him. And that's probably why I made such a bad pitch. I had already kind of cashed that at-bat in. I was perfectly fine getting the next guy. … I was thinking too far in advance, and when you do that, big league hitters will make you pay."

Three singles and a sacrifice fly added two more runs against Wainwright in the fifth, and he was done.

"We know he's tough," Francoeur said. "We felt that we had to get a little luck on our side, and he made a couple mistakes that instead of us grounding into double plays, we executed."

Meanwhile, opposing starter Jon Niese got into plenty of trouble against the Cardinals' offense, but consistently got out of it. St. Louis managed 10 hits against Niese and the New York bullpen, but couldn't convert them. The Cards went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners on the night.

The only run against the Mets' starter came in the first inning, on an infield hit by Ryan Ludwick, despite a beginning that promised more. The first two Cardinals singled, but Wright made three slick plays on grounders to the left side to help keep the inning from getting out of hand.

"He's throwing that cutter in on everybody, so I'm sure Wright knows coming to the field that he's going to get a lot of action," said Brendan Ryan, who singled twice and reached on an error. "There's nothing you can do. You can hit that ball foul or in that direction. He's going to have his hands full with that."

The Cards added a second tally when Randy Winn grounded into a bases-loaded double play in the eighth, but by then it was far too late — and besides, it still counted as an opportunity squandered. It was the fifth time in 11 road starts this season that the Cardinals have scored no runs or one run while Wainwright was in the game.

Cardinals shuffle starting rotation

Baby Birds

Tidbits

NEW YORK — Kyle Lohse pronounced his first Minor League rehabilitation start a success on Tuesday, a day after he lasted three innings for Triple-A Memphis.

Lohse threw 43 pitches, 29 of them strikes, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits. He struck out three and didn't issue a walk, but mostly he felt good the whole time. The forearm injury that plagued him for a year is gone, he said.

"I need to make sure I'm ready," Lohse said. "I'm not going to rush it, but everything felt good. I felt like I could keep going. It wasn't like I went out and got tired."

It appears that Lohse will make two more rehab starts, with the next one coming on Saturday. The Cardinals are excited about his progress but not getting ahead of themselves. Moreover, however well Lohse comes along, it does not appear that his return will affect the club's decision-making between now and Sunday's non-waiver Trade Deadline.

"He's only one pitcher," manager Tony La Russa said. "I think if we can do something, we'll do it. If we can't, we can't."

General manager John Mozeliak echoed those sentiments, saying that if the Cards can add a pitcher at the right cost, they'll happily do so — whether that starter would be a front-of-the-rotation type or merely someone who adds depth. A healthy, effective return from Lohse might seem to argue that the only really worthwhile addition for St. Louis would be a No. 1 or 2 starter, but in Mozeliak's mind, a less-prominent pitcher would still be worth adding — in the right deal, of course.

"I think there's a lot of ways you can improve this club, and that's still a viable option," he said.
Cards may acquire everyday player at Deadline
ST. LOUIS — General manager John Mozeliak said on Tuesday that the Cardinals probably will not add a bench player before Saturday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, but left open the possibility that the team could trade for an everyday player.

Given the Cardinals' preponderance of versatile, utility-type players, Mozeliak was asked if it would be redundant for St. Louis to trade for another such player, and he granted that was likely true. An everyday player, however, holds interest for the club. Mozeliak said that the return of David Freese from an ankle injury, whenever that happens, would not have a significant impact on the club's shopping list.

"I don't feel it's affecting it one way or another," he said. "Because we're not looking at just some short-term band-aid. If we really were going to go that route, we should have done it, in hindsight, a month ago."

That would indicate that the Cardinals have interest in adding a starting middle infielder, ideally one who would be with the club beyond just the 2010 season. Several such players are reportedly potentially available in this year's trade market, including Florida second baseman Dan Uggla and Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew.

Cardinals shuffle starting rotation
NEW YORK — The Cardinals shuffled their starting rotation a bit on Monday, moving Adam Wainwright up a day to pitch Tuesday night's series opener against the Mets at Citi Field.

Wainwright flipped with Jaime Garcia, putting him on his normal fifth day while Garcia receives two extra days of rest before his start Wednesday against New York. The move allows Garcia a little extra recovery time in his first full big league season. But it also puts Wainwright on track potentially to start the Aug. 11 series finale against the Reds, a series he almost certainly would have had to miss if he had pitched on Wednesday.

Additionally, St. Louis flipped Blake Hawksworth and Jeff Suppan. Hawksworth will start Thursday's series closer against the Mets on regular rest, while Suppan is bumped back to Saturday at home against the Pirates. Chris Carpenter stays on turn to pitch the game in between, Friday's homestand opener against Pittsburgh.

Baby Birds
Triple-A Memphis rallied for a 5-2 win against Oklahoma City on Monday. Kyle Lohse pitched three effective innings in a rehab start, and Evan MacLane followed him with five shutout innings of relief. … Double-A Springfield's game against Northwest Arkansas was rained out in the fourth inning and will be made up in its entirety. … Class A Palm Beach was off on Monday. … C.J. Beatty went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs in support of Shelby Miller as Class A Quad Cities beat Dayton, 5-0. … Patrick Biserta's three-run homer was all the offense that short-season Batavia needed in a 3-2 win against Williamsport. … Kevin Siegrist pitched five strong innings in Rookie-level Johnson City's 5-1 win over Burlington. Siegrist allowed a run on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk.

Miller is the player of the day after his longest professional outing. The right-hander pitched seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and no walks with five strikeouts. He's 4-4 with a 3.63 ERA this year, but more telling, he has 94 strikeouts, 21 walks and four homers allowed in 69 1/3 innings. Over his last five starts, Miller has 34 strikeouts against four walks in 25 innings. Miller, 19, was the Cardinals' first-round Draft pick in 2009.

Tidbits
NEW YORK — Nick Stavinoha began a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Memphis on Monday, going 1-for-3 with a double and a walk as Memphis' designated hitter. Stavinoha is recuperating from a shoulder injury. … Colby Rasmus was held out of the lineup for a third straight game on Tuesday as he battles a slump. Jon Jay got the start in his stead. … Yadier Molina was the overwhelming winner in a Sports Illustrated poll asking Major League players for the toughest catcher to steal against. Molina received 58 percent of the votes, with Gerald Laird rating second with nine percent. … In other SI news, the magazine will run a feature story on Stan Musial as its cover story next week. The article is by Joe Posnanski. … Derrick May, the hitting coach for Double-A Springfield, will serve in that same capacity for the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League this fall. … The Sports Business Journal reported this week that the Cardinals' ratings on FSN Midwest this year are the best of any team on a regional sports network.

Though they ended their scoreless innings streak, the Cards' offense left something to be desired. The team left the bases loaded in the sixth, but they were not done yet. They then were able to get just one run apiece after putting two on with no outs in both the seventh and eighth innings.

The Cubs scored the winning runs on a passed ball by Yadier Molina, who seemed to be crossed up by Mitchell Boggs' 2-0 curveball to Alfonso Soriano with the bases loaded.

After the ball squirted away, Molina ran it down and threw it to Boggs covering the plate, but it was a little late, as Starlin Castro upended Boggs on a slide into home. The ball bounced unencumbered down the first-base line, which allowed Aramis Ramirez to score as well.

CHICAGO — With the Cardinals' outfield now a little bit more crowded with the return of everyday right fielder Ryan Ludwick, it stands to figure that center fielder Jon Jay might be forced to come off the bench in a pinch-hitting role a little more often than previously.

Batting .411 on the season in pinch-hit opportunities, Jay seems to already have quite a bit of comfort in those scenarios.

"Even if I was 0-for-15, I would still have the same confidence," Jay said. "I'm going to go out there and do my best. Sometimes you hit the ball real hard at somebody, and sometimes you hit a squibbler for a hit."

A leadoff hitter by trade, Jay likes to think of pinch-hitting as leading off a ballgame.

"I try to keep things simple and put the bat on the ball every time," Jay said. "I've been a leadoff hitter for most of my life, and when I go up there pinch-hitting, I just like to think I'm leading off the game. It might be the seventh or eighth inning, but that's just the way I go about it."

There are a lot of similarities between the two, as hitters are seeing a pitcher for the very first time and must quickly get back up to speed after not swinging a bat since batting practice.

With regular center fielder Colby Rasmus batting .237 since Ludwick went on the disabled list, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa might give Jay an extended look in center field, as he is batting .463 since he was called up on July 3.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Jay said. "It's great to have Luddy back, and it's great for our offense. Whatever my role is, it doesn't matter to me. I just want to be part of the team and help whatever way I can."
Ludwick returns to Cards' lineup
CHICAGO — Ryan Ludwick was in the lineup on Saturday for the first time since going down with a strained left calf on June 25 against the Kansas City Royals.

Slated at second in the lineup, Ludwick resumed his normal post in right field, where he has started 59 games on the season.

"It feels good," Ludwick said. I know they're pretty basic answers, but it's nice to be back."

Ludwick tore up Triple-A in his rehab stint with the Memphis Redbirds, going 3-for-9 with a double, two home runs, and five RBIs.

"I'm hoping [it can carry over]," Ludwick said. "The main thing is being back and trying to take each at-bat and making good at-bats. Whether it's trying to draw a walk, the most important part is trying to get good pitches to hit, and playing them when you hit them."

To make room in the lineup for Ludwick, the Cardinals optioned right-hander P.J. Walters to Memphis.

After winning seven consecutive games to start the second half, the Cards now stare down a two-game losing streak, as the Cubs tossed Jeff Suppan around for five runs over six innings.

Four of those runs came by way of the home run, as Tyler Colvin, Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano all went deep for the hometown Cubs.

The Cardinals also couldn't gain much traction off Cubs starter Randy Wells, as four Cardinals got into scoring position, and only one with less than two outs.

Even though it was the fifth run for the Cubs, by far the most demoralizing run of the game for the Cards came when Starlin Castro popped up a ball with two outs in the sixth and Ryan Theriot on second.

It appeared that Suppan thought Jason LaRue was going to catch it, and LaRue was expecting third baseman Felipe Lopez to catch it. No one made a move for the ball until it was too late, and Castro's popup fell maybe 15 feet away from home plate. Theriot, who had been running hard from second, scored easily to bring the Cubs' advantage to 5-0.

Overall, Cards' offense running well

CHICAGO — With all the talk floating around that the Cardinals are primed to make a move for Astros ace Roy Oswalt, manager Tony La Russa threw a little bit of cold water on all the trade rumors.

"There are a lot of clubs out there looking for help," La Russa said. "Our assumption is that we are not going to get any, so we'll just win with what we got."

With pitchers Kyle Lohse and Brad Penny still on the disabled list, it appears that Oswalt would relieve some of the stress needed to get both of them back to full health to complement Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia and Chris Carpenter.

That trio has combined for 47 of the team's 60 quality starts. Even though Lohse is on the mend, there is no sign of Penny being ready to play anytime soon.

"We just do the best we can," La Russa said. "Right now, there's uncertainty about Penny, but Lohse is really making progress. So with Lohse out, do we need another pitcher? I don't know. In the meantime, the games count."

The fact of the matter is, even though Oswalt is reportedly willing to waive any talk of his contract options to pitch for the Cardinals, it's still not a done deal, and there are still other teams that would be overjoyed with the chance to add a pitcher of Oswalt's caliber.

"There's 30 guys like me," La Russa said. "That's 30 guys who all want one. That's a good question for the front office. They're trying to make whatever it is work, work. The simple answer is nobody wouldn't want a better pitcher, better player."

For the season, Oswalt has a 3.12 ERA, which — if it held — would be his lowest since 2006.
La Russa preaches no complacency
CHICAGO — On Friday, the Cardinals were playing their first game after the All-Star break coming off a loss — as the team rode a seven-game win streak to start the second half.

Because St. Louis entered the break one game behind the then-first-place Reds, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa knows that they cannot afford to coast on the goodwill of their winning streak.

"We were in contention going into the break, so it's not like we can fall asleep at the wheel," La Russa said. "We picked up, pitched well, defended well, got some timely hits. If we do that this weekend, we'll have a good weekend."

The prospect of a pressure-packed pennant race coming down the stretch of the season does not worry La Russa in the slightest.

"We teach the more pressure, the better we are," La Russa said. "We had a pretty good first six weeks. I just think sometimes you struggle, and toward the end of the first half, you're sluggish. We had some good periods, a sluggish period, and another good period. We just have to maintain it. It's not automatic."

Overall, Cards' offense running well
CHICAGO — The Cardinals' offense has had a renaissance since the All-Star break, averaging seven runs per game in the seven wins after the All-Star break. Manager Tony La Russa views a team that is hitting its stride at just the right time.

"We've gotten better, but our stuff's not automatic," La Russa said. "We've concentrated better, we've made some good things happen against good pitching, so now we have more confidence."

That all came to a screeching halt on Thursday, however, as the team didn't muster a single run over the course of 11 innings, largely due to the mastery of Phillies ace Cole Hamels.

"That guy yesterday was … he had unfair weapons," La Russa said. "But we just need to understand that you repeat that formula day in and day out. We have a lot of talent on our roster."

Baby Birds

Cardinals tidbits

ST. LOUIS — The Woo Austin Wilson Project gained steam Thursday, with the Cardinals rolling out the batting-practice cage at Busch Stadium for the precocious prep outfielder, complete with personalized instruction from hitting coach Mark McGwire.

Wilson wowed onlookers with his raw power, launching six home runs over the Busch Stadium walls, including one towering blast to "Big Mac Land" on his last swing of the day. The 6-foot-4 right-hander showed off a compact swing, as well, spraying line drives to the walls in right and center field.

"Plus, plus," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said after watching Wilson closely from the cage. "Very impressive. One of the most impressive teenagers I can ever remember."

It was the second consecutive day Wilson — a 12th-round pick with first-round talent in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft — spent in the Cardinals' facilities. The California prep outfielder from Harvard-Westlake High School has a scholarship to play baseball at Stanford University, and he was considered by most teams a long-shot to sign to a contract.

The Cardinals took a flier on him in the 12th round, however, and they hope the recent recruiting trip — plus the unstated large signing bonus — will be enough to change Wilson's mind about enrolling in Stanford.

"Clearly, they wouldn't be here if they didn't have interest or weren't seriously considering it," vice president of scouting and player development Jeff Luhnow said Wednesday. "Now I am not going to give you any odds, because we don't know."
La Russa doesn't want to rush Ludwick
ST. LOUIS — Sent down Tuesday for a rehab assignment in Triple-A Memphis, Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick quickly put any notions of rust to bed by launching a two-run home run in his first at-bat for the Redbirds.

Ludwick went deep for a second time in as many games Wednesday, and he added a double to bring his two-game total to 3-for-5 with five RBIs. He has started in right field both games, as well.

Still, Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa cautioned that Ludwick may need more then three or four games to completely rehab. On Wednesday, La Russa stated he thought players cut their rehabs too early often and do not take enough at-bats before returning to the Majors.

La Russa did not offer a timeline for when Ludwick might be back in a Cardinals uniform.

"I am going to call him today and talk about it," La Russa said Thursday. "He needs to understand the opportunity he has. It is a chance for him to really come in and be ready.

"It is seeing [the ball] and being ready over and over again. In this case, he is a defensive player, as well, so he has to get his body ready for that."

Baby Birds
ST. LOUIS — Ryan Ludwick starred for back-to-back days in his short rehab stint, going 2-for-2 with a home run, double and three RBIs, as Triple-A Memphis beat Omaha, 7-5. Joe Mather chipped in with two hits, as well, recording a triple. Recent big league callup Evan MacLane set up the win with a quality start, going six innings and allowing three earned runs. … Jose Garcia collected four hits for Double-A Springfield, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell, 5-3, to Tulsa. David Kopp tossed 6 1/3 frames, but he was stung with bad defense as he gave up five runs, only two earned. Kevin Thomas shut down Brevard County, and Class A Palm Beach won, 3-1, on Wednesday. Thomas went seven innings, gave up one run and scattered five hits. Alex Castellanos went 4-for-4 on the day, and D'Marcus Ingram picked up a multihit day with two knocks.

Cardinals tidbits
Tyler Greene started at third base for the Cardinals on Thursday after sitting with a bruised wrist for four days. Greene last hit on July 17, when he was struck in the right wrist with a ball. "He is ready to go," manager Tony La Russa said. … Yadier Molina started Thursday, as well, bucking the traditional off-day for a day game after a night game for catchers. La Russa said Molina would sit one of the games in Chicago this weekend. … With the off-day coming Monday, La Russa said the Cards might change the order of the rotation to possibly rest rookie starter Jaime Garcia, but said he and pitching coach Dave Duncan were not certain yet.

Baby Birds

Cardinals tidbits

ST. LOUIS — Sent down Tuesday for a rehab assignment in Triple-A Memphis, Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick quickly put any notions of rust to bed by launching a two-run home run in his first at-bat for the Redbirds.

Ludwick went deep for a second time in as many games Wednesday, and he added a double to bring his two-game total to 3-for-5 with five RBIs. He has started in right field both games, as well.

Still, Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa cautioned that Ludwick may need more then three or four games to completely rehab. On Wednesday, La Russa stated he thought players cut their rehabs too early often and do not take enough at-bats before returning to the Majors.

La Russa did not offer a timeline for when Ludwick might be back in a Cardinals uniform.

"I am going to call him today and talk about it," La Russa said Thursday. "He needs to understand the opportunity he has. It is a chance for him to really come in and be ready.

"It is seeing [the ball] and being ready over and over again. In this case, he is a defensive player, as well, so he has to get his body ready for that."
Cards continue to recruit Draft pick Wilson
ST. LOUIS — The Woo Austin Wilson Project gained steam Thursday, with the Cardinals rolling out the batting-practice cage at Busch Stadium for the precocious prep outfielder, complete with personalized instruction from hitting coach Mark McGwire.

Wilson wowed onlookers with his raw power, launching six home runs over the Busch Stadium walls, including one towering blast to "Big Mac Land" on his last swing of the day. The 6-foot-4 right-hander showed off a compact swing, as well, spraying line drives to the walls in right and center field.

"Plus, plus," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said after watching Wilson closely from the cage. "Very impressive. One of the most impressive teenagers I can ever remember."

It was the second consecutive day Wilson — a 12th-round pick with first-round talent in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft — spent in the Cardinals' facilities. The California prep outfielder from Harvard-Westlake High School has a scholarship to play baseball at Stanford University, and he was considered by most teams a long-shot to sign to a contract.

The Cardinals took a flier on him in the 12th round, however, and they hope the recent recruiting trip — plus the unstated large signing bonus — will be enough to change Wilson's mind about enrolling in Stanford.

"Clearly, they wouldn't be here if they didn't have interest or weren't seriously considering it," vice president of scouting and player development Jeff Luhnow said Wednesday. "Now I am not going to give you any odds, because we don't know."

Baby Birds
ST. LOUIS — Ryan Ludwick starred for back-to-back days in his short rehab stint, going 2-for-2 with a home run, double and three RBIs, as Triple-A Memphis beat Omaha, 7-5. Joe Mather chipped in with two hits, as well, recording a triple. Recent big league callup Evan MacLane set up the win with a quality start, going six innings and allowing three earned runs. … Jose Garcia collected four hits for Double-A Springfield, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell, 5-3, to Tulsa. David Kopp tossed 6 1/3 frames, but he was stung with bad defense as he gave up five runs, only two earned. Kevin Thomas shut down Brevard County, and Class A Palm Beach won, 3-1, on Wednesday. Thomas went seven innings, gave up one run and scattered five hits. Alex Castellanos went 4-for-4 on the day, and D'Marcus Ingram picked up a multihit day with two knocks.

Cardinals tidbits
Tyler Greene started at third base for the Cardinals on Thursday after sitting with a bruised wrist for four days. Greene last hit on July 17, when he was struck in the right wrist with a ball. "He is ready to go," manager Tony La Russa said. … Yadier Molina started Thursday, as well, bucking the traditional off-day for a day game after a night game for catchers. La Russa said Molina would sit one of the games in Chicago this weekend. … With the off-day coming Monday, La Russa said the Cards might change the order of the rotation to possibly rest rookie starter Jaime Garcia, but said he and pitching coach Dave Duncan were not certain yet.