Wherever Mark Mulder pitches next, it's likely to be cooler than St. Louis was on Tuesday afternoon. In 100-degree heat, the left-hander threw three simulated innings in his biggest test since being placed on the disabled list in June. Mulder threw roughly 15 pitches per inning against Aaron Miles, So Taguchi and John Rodriguez.

Mulder's command wasn't perfect, but his stuff was solid and he felt just fine. Few balls even left the infield.

It's possible that Mulder could pitch in another simulated situation before heading out on a rehabilitation assignment, but it's unlikely. Instead, he's expected to pitch somewhere in the Minor Leagues on Sunday.

"We'll see how he comes in [Wednesday], how he's feeling, see if he thinks he's ready to go out," said pitching coach Dave Duncan. "I think he is ready to be scheduled for a rehab assignment."

It was a difficult assignment for Mulder, given the oppressive heat and short breaks between "innings." He admitted he tired some, but chalked that up to less downtime than a starting pitcher would normally get in an actual game.

"I'm out there trying to make pitches," he said. "I was trying to make pitches every time. I made a few mistakes. One fastball to So that came back over the middle a little bit. One ball he hit off the end of the ball to right that was left up a little bit. But other than that, I made pitches.

"As quick as we were doing it, I got a little tired. But if those were normal innings, I would have been fine."

Mulder was generally pleased with his delivery and with the pitches he threw. He still had the occasional throw where he didn't get full extension with his left arm, but that happens less and less often with each throwing session. He hasn't pitched in a game since June 20 against the White Sox in Chicago.

"I could feel myself not getting my arm quite all the way up on a few of them and I'd kind of spin off it and the ball would just kind of cut down in the zone," he said. "But for the most part, when I got my arm up, I stayed back and the ball came out just fine."

Of the Cardinals' four full-season Minor League affiliates, only low Class A Quad Cities has a home game on Sunday, that against Clinton. Class A Palm Beach plays at Tampa, Double-A Springfield is off and Triple-A Memphis has a game at Fresno.

Mulder doesn't have a read on where he'll be going, but he said he feels ready to take on hitters who aren't his teammates.

"I think I could do it," he said. "But I don't know what it's going to be."