News
Lohse, Glaus ready for final impressions
Milwaukee (78-82) at St. Louis (91-69), 12:10 p.m. CT
By B.J. Rains / MLB.com
10/03/09 2:02 AM EST
ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Lohse will likely be on the Cardinals' playoff roster regardless of whether he or John Smoltz is selected as the team's fourth starter heading into the postseason. Third baseman Troy Glaus doesn't have that security. Both will get a chance to make final impressions on Saturday afternoon as Lohse makes his final regular-season start of the year against the Brewers at Busch Stadium. Glaus, who missed the first five months of the season while recovering from right shoulder surgery, has battled lower back discomfort and a strained oblique since being activated from the disabled list Sept 1. But he rejoined the Cardinals on Tuesday in Cincinnati and contributed two hits and two RBIs in a 13-0 win over the Reds on Thursday. With just two regular-season games left and an open spot on the playoff roster potentially available, the right-handed-hitting Glaus is running out of chances to show the Cards that he is healthy and deserving of a chance in the postseason. "Obviously [it's been] very frustrating," Glaus said. "But hopefully, knock on wood, the last week or so has been good and I'm just taking this as an opportunity to go out there and get as many reps as possible and hopefully help us win a ballgame. "All I can do is go out and do my job and let the chips fall where they may. That's all I can do -- go out there and try to have good at-bats, and hopefully productive at-bats, and see what happens at the end here." Glaus hit .270 with 27 home runs and 99 RBIs for the Cardinals in 2008 but hasn't been able to get healthy enough to stay on the field. But despite the missed time, manager Tony La Russa knows the slugger could potentially be a dangerous bat coming off the bench if he is healthy. "He could be a benefit to us in a lot of ways," La Russa said. While Glaus has to prove to the St. Louis brass that he deserves a spot on the bench, Lohse will likely be on the roster no matter what the Cardinals decide to do with him. Lohse and Smoltz are both candidates to start Game 4 of the National League Division Series behind Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Joel Pineiro, but whomever is not chosen to start will still be on the roster and just moved to the bullpen. Lohse, who has been battling forearm fatigue for several starts, had two productive starts on the recent road trip but isn't looking at Saturday's start as a chance to prove that the ball should go to him as a starter in Game 4. The righty just wants to get the bad taste out of his mouth that an equally disappointing and injury-filled season has left him with. "I just want to go out there and pitch well," Lohse said. "Have good stuff, go as long as I can and finish off the regular season on a good note. I don't know if they've made their minds up already or if they aren't going to make them until right before or what. I'm not going to worry about that, because that could be a distraction, and I don't need that. "The main thing is to be healthy and be in a spot where you can help the team out. That's been the attitude of everyone on this team -- do whatever we have to do to o help us get to the World Series and win it. There's no room for anybody to have any egos as far as what they will or won't do. We've got 11 more wins to get." And Glaus and Lohse both hope they are on the roster to help try and do it. Pitching matchupSTL: RHP Kyle Lohse (6-9, 4.84 ERA)
It's the last chance for Lohse to show his stuff before the playoffs. There are no guarantees for him, as John Smoltz has pitched well and he has yet to really find his form. Lohse has felt good for two consecutive starts, though, and that's encouraging. Things would seem to work better if Lohse can secure a rotation spot, because Smoltz has experience as a late-inning reliever while Lohse has pitched very little out of the bullpen in his career. MIL: RHP Carlos Villanueva (3-10, 5.24 ERA)
Villanueva is going make a spot start in place of Dave Bush, who decided to shut it down for the year because of arm fatigue. Earlier this season, the Brewers hoped Villanueva could bolster a rotation beset by injuries to Bush and others, but he went 0-3 with a 6.38 ERA and was bounced back to the bullpen. Villanueva has been better of late, posting a 2.31 ERA over his past 15 appearances. Tidbits
The Cardinals plated their 700th run of the season on Wednesday night, giving them at least 700 runs in every season this decade. St. Louis surpassed 800 runs on five occasions and had a decade-high 887 runs in 2000. ... The Cardinals didn't waste any time putting up signage to commemorate their NL Central crown. With the rival Brewers in town, the Cards displayed graphics that said "NL Central Champs" and also put a big sign on the wall near the right-field foul pole. Friday was their first home game since clinching the division in Colorado last Saturday. Tickets
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• Sunday: Brewers (TBA) at Cardinals (Joel Pineiro, 15-12, 3.44), 1:15 p.m. CT
B.J. Rains is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
