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.