Cardinals' Garcia to make season debut Thursday against Mets
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia will make his first start in almost a year Thursday when he gets the ball for the team's series finale against the New York Mets.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed Sunday that Garcia will take the place of starter Tyler Lyons, who was optioned to Triple-A prior to the club's finale with the Detroit Tigers.
Garcia, who's been slow to recover from thoracic outlet surgery last summer, appeared to be the team's fifth starter before shoulder trouble delayed his rehab this spring. The left-hander will be making his first start since June 20, 2014.
"First of all, just to be here and have an opportunity to be back in this clubhouse with my teammates, it's something that I'm just extremely grateful for," Garcia told reporters Sunday. "I know it's been a long road, but I'm extremely excited to be here, and I'm definitely looking forward to pitching on Thursday."
The 28-year-old went 3-1 with a 4.12 ERA and eight strikeouts per nine in seven starts last season.
HEADLINES
- Crochet shines in 1st start after Red Sox extension: 'Reason he's here'
- D-Backs sign Marte to 6-year extension worth reported $116.5M
- Damn the torpedoes: Limited data won't quell orders for new bats
- Dodgers' Sasaki looks to bounce back after rough debut
- Suzuki homers twice as Cubs rout A's for sweep in Sacramento