Greetings from Cincinnati, where it's a cloudy but very nice night, mild with a little breeze. If it clears up at all, should be a great night for fireworks.

* Kyle Lohse said that his first rehab outing, on Thursday night in Springfield, went just about how it looked in the box score. He started out a little shaky, got sharp in the middle innings and faded in his last inning as he came up against his pitch count.

"It took me a little time to see what was working," Lohse said. "Kind of a little erratic. But then, the second, third and fourth, I felt like I was back in the groove. Fastballs down, hitting corners. And then the fifth inning, a single on a fastball down the middle, got an out, then a bunt hit, then a walk. So it was just not really the way I wanted to finish it off, but I still felt good."

Lohse's next start is scheduled for Tuesday at Triple-A Memphis, which would put him right on line to pitch on the final day of the first half, the Sunday, July 12 doubleheader against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

"I'll only get one start before the end of the half, so I might as well go into it feeling a little better," he said. "Not that I don't feel good about what I was able to do, but it will give me a chance to throw some more pitches and work on command of the fastball a little more."

* As you've no doubt heard by now, Albert Pujols was named the National League Player of the Month on Friday. That makes twice in three months. The other NL winners were Tim Lincecum (pitcher) and Tommy Hanson (rookie).

* TLR said that Mark DeRosa is coming along well but remains unavailable to swing a bat.

"He's actually making progress," La Russa said. "He could defend or run the bases, but he can't hit for today. We'll go day to day."

DeRosa won't start until at least Tuesday.

* The Cardinals join everyone else in baseball in donning commemorative caps for this holiday weekend. Every team is wearing red caps with the team logo covered by a stars-and-stripes pattern.

Today's playlist:
Metric, "Gimme Sympathy"
Kevin GIlbert, "Parade"
Cold War Kids, "Something is Not Right With Me"
Silversun Pickups, "Lazy Eye"
Libertines, "Can't Stand Me Now"

-M.

Friday lineup vs. RHP Homer Bailey:

1. Schumaker 2B
2. Duncan LF
3. Pujols 1B
4. Ludwick RF
5. Ankiel CF
6. Molina C
7. Thurston 3B
8. Pineiro P
9. Ryan SS

-M.

* Kyle Lohse started for Double-A Springfield tonight, lasting 4 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits (one of them a bunt single), struck out three and walked four. He started out somewhat shaky, allowing a homer and two walks in the first inning, cruised through the second, third and fourth innings and faded somewhat in his final frame. Lohse threw 79 pitches, at the upper end of his 60-80 pitch count, 44 for strikes.

He'll probably pitch again in the Minors on Tuesday, which would put him on track to pitch one game of the doubleheader on July 12 that ends the first half of the season for the Cardinals.

* John Mozeliak spoke with us scribes today regarding Wagner Mateo and several other topics. One thing that came up was Shelby Miller, and Mozeliak said that it's likely to be an "11th-hour" situation. He did say two things in particular about Miller in relation to Mateo, also.

One, he reiterated that the dollars given to Mateo should not have any effect on what the team can spend on Miller. Two, he also said that it wasn't as though the club was devoting all of its time and efforts to Mateo at the expense of negotiating with Miller. It just seems to be a slow process with Miller. And that makes some sense, because typically when players sign for above slot (as Miller is very likely to do, assuming he signs), it tends to happen very late in the signing period. The deadline is Aug. 17.

* The Cards do not expect Mark DeRosa to be available to start until at least Tuesday, after the off day on Monday. However, TLR said that he would be willing to use DeRosa as a pinch-runner or conceivably even a defensive replacement in the interim.

"We're going to look at him hopefully for Tuesday," La Russa said. "I think that's the earliest. If he's not ready Tuesday, he's not ready Tuesday. But I don't think it will be this weekend."

As for using him as a pinch-runner or defensive player, the manager said, "We're short. I'll take him however we can get him."

Today's playlist, one final round of Bay Area music:
Timex Social Club, "Rumors"
Digital Underground, "Doowutchyalike"
MC Hammer, "U Can't Touch This"
Tony! Toni! Toné!, "If I Had No Loot"
En Vogue, "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)"

-M.

Giants
1. Aaron Rowand CF
2. Randy Winn RF
3. Pablo Sandoval 3B
4. Bengie Molina C
5. Fred Lewis LF
6. Juan Uribe SS
7. Travis Ishikawa 1B
8. Matt Downs 2B
9. Barry Zito LHP

Cardinals
1. Brendan Ryan SS
2. Skip Schumaker 2B
3. Albert Pujols 1B
4. Ryan Ludwick RF
5. Yadier Molina C
6. Chris Duncan LF
7. Tyler Greene 3B
8. Todd Wellemeyer RHP
9. Colby Rasmus CF

Umpires
HP: Todd Tichenor
1B: Mark Carlson
2B: Tim Tschida
3B: Bob Davidson


-M.

All sorts of news at the ballpark today, where it's a gorgeous, mild, breezy night.

* Mark DeRosa has been diagnosed with a strained tendon in his left wrist and is day-to-day. He's expected to miss a few days but the club did not place him on the disabled list.

* Troy Glaus will begin the Florida phase of his rehab from shoulder surgery tomorrow, and the hope is that he will soon begin playing in Minor League games. He's likely to head straight to the Florida State League to begin playing games.

* The Cardinals purchased the contract of infielder Jarrett Hoffpauir from Triple-A Memphis and optioned right-handed pitcher Clayton Mortensen to Memphis.

* Kyle Lohse will make a rehab start at Springfield tomorrow, and per John Mozeliak, he's likely to make one more rehab start after that. Mozeliak said today he does not expect that Lohse's next appearance would be for the big league club. Thus, it sounds like his first start since going on the DL would be the last day before the All-Star break, as part of that doubleheader in Chicago.

* Someone asked whether Brett Wallace had been considered for the callup today, and TLR clearly did not like that idea.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said. "Whoever is saying that... are you guys pulling against him? Whoever is making those comments is pulling against him rather than for him. Just let him play. If anybody cares about this young man being a Cardinal, let him play."

* A reminder: tomorrow night's first pitch is at 6:15 p.m. CT, an hour earlier than normal.

* Jess Todd has been named a Pacific Coast League all-star.

Tonight's playlist, another Bay Area special. Trying for four nights:
Grateful Dead, "Box of Rain"
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Fortunate Son"
Otis Redding, "Dock of the Bay"
Janis Joplin, "Piece of My Heart"
Rolling Stones, "Gimme Shelter"

-M.

ST. LOUIS --  Three games into his Cardinals career, Mark DeRosa is hurt. He and the club are just hoping it's not too serious.

DeRosa injured his left wrist on a swing in the fourth inning of St. Louis' 6-3 loss to San Francisco on Tuesday night. He remained in the game for one more inning, but removed himself before taking another at-bat. He is expected to be re-examined on Wednesday.

"I took a swing there my second at-bat and felt a little tweak in my left wrist," DeRosa said. "I went in to hit off the tee after coming in from playing the field, and it just didn't feel right. I felt like I should come out of the game and get it looked at."

Pitcher Chris Carpenter was removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fifth. When the sixth inning started, reliever Josh Kinney slotted into DeRosa's spot in the batting order as part of a double-switch. Neither DeRosa nor manager Tony La Russa had any diagnosis beyond discomfort in the joint. DeRosa said he had never had an injury in that area before, so he did not know exactly what to make of it.

"I have no idea," he said. "There are so many small bones and stuff in the wrist. I don't know. But I didn't want to go out there and push it and find myself not being able to play for a little bit."

After taking Randy Johnson's first pitch of the at-bat for a ball, DeRosa swung and missed at a changeup from Johnson, at which point he felt pain. He finished the at-bat, fouling off two pitches and hitting one of them extremely hard into the seats down the third-base line.

"I was able to gut through it," he said. "It didn't hinder my swing at all. But it was something that was progressively getting a little more uncomfortable as I stayed in the game."
 

When Albert Pujols does something even he has never done before, you know it's special.

Pujols cranked his 29th and 30th home runs of the year on Tuesday night against the Giants, the 32nd time in Major League history a player has reached 30 homers before the All-Star break. The last player to do so was Alex Rodriguez, who had exactly 30 at the break in 2007. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it's also the 10th time in history a player has hit his 30th home run before July 1, and the first since 2001, when Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez both did so.

The only previous players with 30 home runs before June 1 were Bonds, Gonzalez, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire and Babe Ruth.

Additionally, with 14 home runs in June, Pujols equaled a personal best for a single month. He had 14 in April of 2006. And he drove in his 33rd, 34th and 35th runs of June, setting a new personal mark. He had 33 RBIs in May of 2006.

Pujols has now hit at least 30 home runs in each of his nine Major League seasons, extending his own personal record to start a career.

It is Pujols' seventh multi-homer game of 2009 and the 30th of his big league career.

Belated tidbits. I'm working on some national stuff for another night, which means game coverage is again in the capable hands of associate reporter B.J. Rains. Check out his blog at BJRains.MLBlogs.com.

* Yadier Molina is back in the lineup after sitting out a couple of days due to a bruised thigh, which he suffered in a collision with Michael Cuddyer on Saturday.

* Colby Rasmus is considered playable after missing some time with a hiatal hernia (which, for those concerned, is drastically different from a sports hernia). However, with lefty Randy Johnson on the mound for the Giants, Rasmus will sit out another night.

* The lineup looked a bit odd today, with Mark DeRosa at third while Joe Thurston is in the outfield, and Tyler Greene at second base while Brendan Ryan is at short. According to TLR, in both cases it has to do with regular roles. He expects DeRosa to play a lot at third, and Ryan to play a lot at short, so he wanted to minimize the disruption to those two guys. It seems to me the better defensive lineup might have DeRo in the outfield and Thurston at 3B, and Greene at SS with Ryan at 2B, but that is the reasoning.

* Additionally, DeRosa is in the 2 spot tonight because he's had a hard time against Johnson. Normally he'll hit fourth against lefties, but Johnson is not a good matchup for him so he's in the 2 spot instead.

Today's playlist, round two of Bay Area tunes:
Counting Crows, "Angels of the Silences"
Cake, "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" (Sacramento, but that's pretty close)
Primus, "Tommy the Cat"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "In Like the Rose"
The Donnas: "Hot Pants"
(wonder if I can do four of these?)

-M.

Lineup vs. LHP Randy Johnson:

1. Brendan Ryan SS
2. Mark DeRosa 3B
3. Albert Pujols 1B
4. Ryan Ludwick RF
5. Yadier Molina C
6. Rick Ankiel CF
7. Tyler Greene 2B
8. Chris Carpenter P
9. Joe Thurston LF

-M.

Very nice day at Busch Stadium today, will probably drop into the 80s by first pitch, clear and some breeze.

* One late update: Colby Rasmus is sitting due to a hiatal hernia. He's likely to return to the active lineup on Wednesday.

* Yadier Molina is out again today due to a bruised right thigh. He sustained the injury on Saturday in a collision with Michael Cuddyer at home plate. Molina is likely to return to the lineup on Tuesday.

TLR comment:

"He's still sore. He's better than he was yesterday, and it would be a push to play him. We're in the last two weeks of the first half. there's no reason to do that. I expect he'll play tomorrow.

"He got blasted right there in that muscle, and the muscle was really bruised to where he was having trouble yesterday squatting. Today he's a little bit better but it's still a push."

* As already reported, Khalil Greene has been placed on the disabled list due to social anxiety disorder. Clayton Mortensen's contract was purchased from Triple-A Memphis. Mortensen is present and available to pitch. He's wearing No. 54.

* Brendan Ryan is back in the lineup after missing three days due to wrist soreness. He had a cortisone shot on Friday, and after the usual three days' downtime, he's back in there. TLR said he doesn't expect that Ryan will be limited or restricted in how he can be used.

* Albert Pujols continues to hold a commanding lead at first base in All-Star balloting, and Yadier Molina is in the lead at catcher.

Today's playlist, a Bay Area special:
Sly and the Family Stone, "I Want to Take You Higher"
Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love"
Faith No More, "Midlife Crisis"
Rancid, "Roots Radicals"
Metallica, "Disposable Heroes"

-M.