St. Louis Cardinals make some pitching changes, place Tyler Lyons on DL

Following last night’s disastrous outing by the St. Louis Cardinals, the club has made some changes to their pitching staff. Amongst these pitching changes include sending Tyler Lyons to the 15-day disabled list.
Mar 12, 2014; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Sam Freeman (71) throws against the New York Mets in spring training action at Tradition Stadium. Image Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
Anyone could have seen a move was coming to the pitching staff when manager Mike Matheny made the decision to go with a position player, Daniel Descalso, to finish out last night’s horrendous outing.

The reasoning for Lyons going to the DL is that he has a left-shoulder strain. The other move from the major league roster was right-handed reliever Eric Fornataro being optioned down to Memphis (AAA, Pacific Coast League). In seven games this season, Fornataro has a 4.70 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched. The reliever has allowed four runs on eight hits.

Being recalled by the Cardinals are relievers Sam Freeman and Jorge Rondon.

Freeman, a lefty, is 0-1 in 13 appearances this season with Memphis, where he had a 3.78 ERA. The 26-year-old has seen time on the Cardinals during both the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Dating back to April 12, Freeman has struck out 16 batters in 12.0 innings pitched with a 1.50 ERA. In the same time frame, he has only allowed two runs over his last 10 appearances.

As for Rondon, this will be his Major League debut. The Cardinals signed the Venezuelan Summer League product as a non-drafted international free-agent in July 2006. Rondon posted a 1-0 record with a 2.51 ERA during 11 appearances (14.1 innings) for Memphis. Since April 25th, he has not allowed an earned run in his last five games (8 IP).

The Memphis Redbirds had a day game today and crushed Round Rock with a 14-3 win.

Kolten Wong: 4-for-5, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, .344 AVG (.372 AVG in last 10 games)
Oscar Taveras: 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, .307 AVG
Stephen Piscotty: 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, BB, .315 AVG
Randal Grichuk: 3-for-5, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, .333 AVG

So how soon before Wong gets recalled? It can’t be too much longer with how he’s hitting in Memphis.