Cardinals reliever Rosenthal could be activated for series in Washington

Reliever Trevor Rosenthal could be activated as early as Monday when the St. Louis Cardinals begin their first road trip of the season in Washington.

Rosenthal, on the disabled list with a strained right lat, threw to hitters Saturday before the game against Cincinnati and declared himself ready to contribute.

“It went well,” Rosenthal said before the Cardinals defeated Cincinnati 10-4. “Everything felt right. We’ll see how I recover (Sunday), check back in and see what the next step is.”

Rosenthal threw in the bullpen Thursday but said he felt much better Saturday.

“I felt healthy today,” he said. “Right now, it’s just seeing how I bounce back and staying on top of things. We’ve been doing a good job with that. Hopefully, I’ll continue to progress.

“Today was the best I’ve felt. Progressively, I’ve been getting better. I’m trying to just build on that every day.”

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny watched Rosenthal from behind the cage.

“Trevor looked good,” Matheny said. “The ball was jumping out of his hand, and his secondary pitches looked sharp. Everything looked good; it just depends on how he feels.”

The Cardinals could have a clearer idea Sunday of what the next step is for Rosenthal.

Lyons returns

Left-hander Tyler Lyons returned to St. Louis on Saturday after pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings for Class AAA Memphis on in its 5-1 victory Friday at New Orleans.

Lyons, recovering from surgery on his right knee, allowed three hits, walked one and struck out two.

“It went well,” Lyons said. “I made it through what I needed to get through and I felt pretty good in the process. I felt like I got a little more comfortable as I went along. I got a little stronger. I got what I wanted out of it.

“The more I get out there, the better I’ll keep feeling. From a knee standpoint, I feel very confident about where I’m at. Right now, it’s just about continuing to throw a little more and getting in a little bit better shape. I could feel my legs being a little weaker than I would like. So I think it’s about getting in a little better pitching shape. The arm feels fine.”

Piscotty ailing again

Stephen Piscotty was out of the lineup again Saturday, but it had nothing to do with his adventurous trip around the bases in the game Tuesday.

Matheny said Piscotty injured a knee Friday night when he was caught stealing second in the fourth inning of a 2-0 loss to Cincinnati.

“He’s a little sore,” Matheny said. “We found that out (Saturday) morning. The training staff didn’t like the fact he may be favoring it a little bit.”

Randal Grichuk started in right for Piscotty, with Matt Adams getting the nod in left. Adams was unable to flag down Zack Cozart’s triple near the wall in the second, a drive that was in the air for a long time.

“It was a tough play,” Matheny said. “That’s pushing the limits of his range.”

Another lineup change had Jedd Gyorko starting at third base for Jhonny Peralta, who is batting .182 (2-for-11) with six strikeouts in his first three games. Gyorko was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two walks.

“Day game after a night game,” Matheny said. “We’ve got to keep Jedd engaged. I would like to have (Jose) Martinez more engaged. We need to see Greg Garcia out there, too. We would like to see them all get an opportunity. We try to use guys as we can.”　

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Cardinals reliever Rosenthal could be activated for series in Washington."