Lohse's return may not be that far off

ST. LOUIS -- Pitcher Kyle Lohse threw a three-inning simulated game Friday afternoon against Khalil Greene, Chris Duncan and Jason LaRue.

Lohse, recovering from a right forearm strain, might be ready to return to the St. Louis Cardinals' rotation within the next 10 days.

"I threw 60 (pitches), broke up into three 20s," Lohse said. "Add on top of that about 25 to warm up. It felt good. It was kind of weird being in that situation, but I felt like everything was coming out good.

"I got a little tired at the end, obviously, with the (upper-90s) heat and everything. I'm ready to go on a rehab, I think, now. We'll go from there."

The Cardinals are leaning toward sending Lohse to Class AA Springfield, which has a home game Thursday when Lohse would be ready to pitch.

Lohse, on the disabled list for the first time in his nine-year career, has been sidelined since June 5. He is 4-4 with a 3.99 ERA in 10 starts.

"It went way better than the bullpens I've been throwing," Lohse said of his workout. "I think I just needed some hitters in there to make myself concentrate on getting (the ball) down. It's not going to be perfect, but I made some good pitches.

"I got the ball down and the ball was moving. I threw changeups, sliders, curveballs, everything. I mixed it up."

Lohse originally was injured May 23 when a pitch from Kansas City reliever Ron Mahay hit him in the forearm as he squared to bunt.

Lohse missed his next start because of numbness and a burning sensation in the forearm. He then aggravated the injury June 3 when he made a diving stop of a bunt single by Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Cueto, which was followed by an awkward throw to first base.

Lohse said one rehab start should be enough, but he isn't counting on anything.

"We'll see," he said. "Their goals might be different. They just want to make sure I'm ready and not rushed. I've got to respect that and make sure when I got out there it's not pushing it and I'm 100 percent ready --not just physically, but command and everything else."

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was noncomittal about the next step for Lohse, pending further discussion with pitching coach Dave Duncan.

"I think he had a really good workout," La Russa said. "He might do another one of those or he might do a rehab. We'll discuss the next step.

"I was impressed. You wait and see how he comes out of it tomorrow. We were going to be flexible, depending on how that went. But it went well, so it does open up the possibility that he'll rehab sooner. He's one of our top starters. It would be huge (to get him back)."

Lohse said his arm feels as good as he did before he was smoked by Mahay's inside delivery.

"I'm not even doing treatment right now," Lohse said. "The forearm feels 100 percent. It's just a matter of getting it game-ready. The guys are doing all right and we're playing good ball. I'm not going to go out there and think that I'm going to save the day."