News
Wellemeyer to start on extra rest
St. Louis (8-5) vs. New York (6-6), 7:15 p.m. CT
Todd Wellemeyer threw off flat ground on Sunday. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
04/19/09 8:43 PM ET
Todd Wellemeyer got up on Sunday morning with a pretty good idea he wouldn't be pitching that night. Rain had already started falling, and it never let up. So his scheduled start against his former team, the Chicago Cubs, never happened. Instead, he'll try again on Tuesday at home against the Mets. No national TV this time around, but hopefully it won't be chilly and pouring. "I saw the radar," Wellemeyer said. "All [Saturday], I didn't accept the fact that it was going to rain all day [Sunday]. And then I woke up." The conditions threw an extra kink into Wellemeyer's preparations, too. Because of the somewhat limited facilities at Wrigley Field, he wasn't able to throw off a mound at all on Sunday. Instead, he threw on flat ground, with plans to repeat that on Monday, before pitching on Tuesday. It's not ideal, but it's what he has to work with. "I'm going to play catch today and play some catch tomorrow and that's about it," he said on Sunday afternoon. "I might watch some video of my last start and some other stuff." He'll certainly have a different kind of challenge on Tuesday. If he had gotten the start on Sunday, he likely would have had to take one for the team. If Wellemeyer had gotten into early trouble against Chicago, he'd have had to stick around. The Cardinals were short on relievers. On the second try, though, everyone will have had two full days to rest and recover. He'll certainly be looking to get deep in the game, but if it doesn't work out, at least there will be backup. "We're pretty maxed out, but we had enough pitching to pitch the game [on Sunday]," pitching coach Dave Duncan said. "But it gets to the point where you start pushing guys a little bit." Now, fortunately, they won't have to. Pitching matchupSTL: RHP Todd Wellemeyer (1-1, 4.50 ERA)
Wellemeyer has simplified his delivery in between starts and it has paid dividends. In his most recent start, he went seven innings against the Diamondbacks on Monday, allowing seven hits and one earned run. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter. In Wellemeyer's first start of the season, he gave up 12 hits and five runs in a loss to Pittsburgh. NYM: LHP Oliver Perez (1-1, 7.84 ERA)
Perez is coming off his first win of the season on Wednesday night, a six-inning, one-run performance against the Padres. Although the lefty admitted to not having his best fastball, Perez used his slider and changeup early and often to keep San Diego's batters off balance. He fanned four and walked two, allowing two of the Padres' three hits to Luis Rodriguez. For Perez, it's all about consistency, and Wednesday night he used a methodical approach, throwing 57 of 90 pitches for strikes. Tidbits
Albert Pujols is 10-for-26 against Perez with seven extra-base hits for a .923 slugging percentage. ... Ryan Ludwick has a 21-game hitting streak dating back to 2008. ... Chris Duncan has at least one hit in all 12 games in which he has appeared in 2009. ... Wellemeyer has a 6.89 lifetime ERA against the Mets. Tickets
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• Wednesday: Cardinals (Joel Pineiro, 2-0, 5.40) vs. Mets (John Maine, 0-1, 7.20), 7:15 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Cardinals (Kyle Lohse, 2-0, 2.57) vs. Mets (Livan Hernandez, 1-0, 4.63), 12:40 p.m. CT
• Friday: Cardinals (Adam Wainwright, 2-0, 3.31) vs. Cubs (Ryan Dempster, 1-0, 5.00), 7:15 p.m. CT
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
