News
Boggs eager for another chance in bigs
St. Louis (56-49) vs. Houston (51-51), 7:15 p.m. CT
Mitchell Boggs made four starts for the Cardinals earlier this year. (AP)
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
07/31/09 12:12 AM ET
ST. LOUIS -- It's not the usual assignment for a rookie, that's for sure. Right-hander Mitchell Boggs makes his first big league appearance in 2 1/2 months on Friday, facing the contending Astros in a battle between National League Central rivals. But Boggs isn't worried. He's looking forward to the opportunity. He takes the Cardinals' rotation spot of Todd Wellemeyer, who struggled mightily before finally being demoted to the bullpen. "I'm really excited about it," he said. "I've been keeping up with this team every day since I went down. To see how well we've played is exciting. To be here this late in the season and be a part of it like this, it's exciting for me. I'm looking forward to being a part of it." Boggs is known to have a nice fastball, and he's displayed it in the Majors for the most part. On average he throws it at 92-93 mph, and it has nice sink. His secondary pitches, however, have been an issue. But Boggs believes he's made progress with his slider and his changeup. If his offspeed stuff is truly improved, he'll be more prepared to pitch in the big leagues. "It's a lot better than it ever has been," he said. "I was in some situations the last couple games down there where earlier in the year, or the past couple years, I would have just stuck with the fastball and tried to get out of it that way. I made some pitches with the changeup, made some pitches with the slider. I feel good about it. We'll see how it is tomorrow night." It's unclear how long Boggs will have the opportunity to show what he has. After Friday, it's 11 days before the Cardinals would need a fifth starter again, so he could conceivably even be sent down to make a start at Memphis in between big league outings. Whatever comes next, though, he's just looking forward to Friday. "I feel a lot better about what I'm doing," Boggs said. "I'm keeping my tempo up a little bit more on my delivery. I'm not as feely-touchy with the strike zone. I'm being aggressive, trying to throw aggressive strikes and make guys put it in play. I think I got to a point where I was nibbling and trying to be too fine. I've got to be aggressive and let the guys behind me make plays." Pitching matchupSTL: RHP Mitchell Boggs (1-0, 3.22 ERA)
The rookie will be recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday to take Wellemeyer's spot in the rotation. Wellemeyer was demoted after struggling to the second worst ERA in the Major Leagues at 5.79. Boggs made four starts for the Cardinals earlier this year when Chris Carpenter was injured but was unable to pitch past the sixth inning in any of them. He has struggled going deep into games but seems to have corrected that in Memphis. He gave up one earned run in his last three starts at Triple-A before getting the recall. HOU: RHP Brian Moehler (7-6, 5.16 ERA)
Moehler's streak of consecutive quality starts came to an end at four when he was roughed up Sunday against the Mets. He allowed eight hits and five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, which was his shortest outing since back-to-back awful starts to begin the year. The good news is he's 5-0 with a 3.98 ERA in six games (five starts) against the Cardinals in his career. He held St. Louis to six hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings on July 20 in Houston in his last start against the Cardinals. Tidbits
Albert Pujols is 9-for-17 with three home runs against Moehler. ... Julio Lugo, who may start at shortstop in place of Brendan Ryan if Ryan's ankle remains problematic, is 7-for-19 against the right-hander while Skip Schumaker is 5-for-10. ... Boggs has a 7.08 ERA in four career games at Busch Stadium (all starts). Tickets
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• Saturday: Cardinals (Chris Carpenter, 9-3, 2.19) vs. Astros (Wandy Rodriguez, 10-6, 2.65), 6:15 p.m. CT
• Sunday: Cardinals (Adam Wainwright, 12-6, 2.80) vs. Astros (Bud Norris, 0-0, 3.00), 1:15 p.m. CT
• Monday: Off-day
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
