Indians at Cardinals
With lefty Jaime Garcia sidelined for at least six weeks with a shoulder injury, the St. Louis Cardinals turn to rookie Joe Kelly to make his first major-league start in Sunday’s rubber game against Cleveland. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder was a third-round draft pick in 2009. He has a tough act to follow after Kyle Lohse tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings in Saturday’s 2-0 Cards win. That was just St. Louis’ sixth victory in 19 all-time tries against the Indians.
Cleveland center fielder Michael Brantley on Sunday will try to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. This is Cleveland’s longest streak since Brantley had a 19-gamer in 2010.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, FS-M, STO
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Ubaldo Jimenez (6-4, 5.31 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Joe Kelly (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Jimenez has walked a whopping 43 batters in 62 2/3 innings. But he’s coming off a strong outing against Detroit in which he allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings. Batters are hitting .257 against Jimenez, who is 2-3 with a 3.64 ERA in seven career starts against St. Louis.
Kelly gets the call after going 2-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 12 starts at Triple-A Memphis. He went at least seven innings in each of his last three starts, and his ERA ranks second in the Pacific Coast League.
WALK-OFFS:
1. Cards CF Jon Jay, out of the lineup since May 16 with a shoulder separation, says he’s experiencing greater range of motion but did not offer a timetable for his return.
2. The Indians are 3-2 on their nine-game road trip, which concludes with three games in Cincinnati.
3. Cards LF Matt Holliday could not play Saturday due to back spasms and is day-to-day.