Friday, August 31, 2007

Report: Mulder may return to Cards next week

The St. Louis Cardinals' rotation might be getting a boost soon.

Mark Mulder

Mulder

Left-hander Mark Mulder, who has been on the disabled list all season while rehabbing from rotator cuff surgery last September, could start at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates next Wednesday or Thursday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday.

Mulder is scheduled to make his fourth minor-league rehabilitation start for Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Mulder would be the sixth starter in the Cardinals' rotation, and because the defending World Series champions are finishing the season with 35 games in 34 days, manager Tony La Russa is thinking about using a six-man rotation for the month of September and giving each starter an extra day off.

"[Starter Adam Wainwright, who spent last season in the bullpen] is one of the reasons you want to go to six," La Russa told the Post-Dispatch. "All this is forcing normal September days off that we're not having.

"[Wainwright] and [converted reliever Braden] Looper are in their first full year as starters," La Russa told the newspaper. "This ensures that they're going to have that extra freshness."


Source: ESPN.com

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