Anticipated for the return of former Cardinals starter Joel Piñeiro to Busch Stadium, the lasting significance of Friday's game instead will be the sudden departure of Brad Penny.Penny hit the first grand slam of his career to break a tie in the third inning and then didn't throw another pitch in the game. The righthander left with a strained right back muscle, an injury lingering from his previous start and aggravated Friday against the Los Angeles Angels. The severity of the injury won't be clear until a scan is taken this morning, but the Cardinals plan to promote P.J. Walters from Class AAA Memphis as a precaution.
The Cardinals' bullpen shouldered the leftover six innings for a 9-5 victory. Jason Motte (2-1) got the win for retiring all six batters he faced. Motte and three other relievers preserved the lead created by Penny's tie-breaking grand slam.
Penny insisted after the game that he didn't intensify the injury with his swing, saying it was a soreness he'd been managing since his last start, in Cincinnati. Penny felt a bite beneath his shoulder the day after allowing seven runs on 13 hits in five innings vs. the Reds. He threw a side session this week and experienced a twinge in the muscle. But he felt the discomfort could be controlled and even abated before his start Friday.
He did not reveal the injury to his coaches.
Penny started warming up for the fourth inning until Duncan stopped him quickly. The righthander conceded after the game that there was "no way" he could pitch that inning. He had started to stiffen up and Penny described a "burn" in the muscle that wraps from the back up toward the armpit.
The results of Penny's MRI scan today will determine if a trip to the disabled list is likely. Other players with a similar injury, like Cleveland's Kerry Wood, have missed several weeks. The Cardinals were already without a pitcher as they intend to rest Blake Hawksworth and his sore groin this weekend. The added burden on the bullpen Friday and Penny's uncertain status necessitated at least one move before this afternoon's game.
Walters was scheduled to start today for Memphis in Sacramento. He is expected to join the Cardinals this afternoon. The team did not clarify the corresponding move.
In three starts for the Redbirds, Walters has allowed one run in 18 2/3 innings, and he's struck out 23.
A coincidence in the Cardinals' interleague schedule brought Piñeiro back with his new team and pitted him against his replacement. Piñeiro signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Angels this past winter. The Cardinals signed Penny in early December to a one-year deal that essentially signaled their intent not to court Piñeiro.
Neither starter saw Friday's fourth inning.
The Cardinals tagged Piñeiro for nine runs off nine hits in his three innings.
Rookie David Freese struck a two-out single in the third to start the decisive rally. He reached third on Yadier Molina's double. With first base open, Piñeiro intentionally walked No. 8 hitter Skip Schumaker to face Penny with the bases loaded. On Piñeiro's first pitch — a hanging slider — Penny launched the ball into the left-field seats. The homer was the third of Penny's career, his first since 2003.
Leadoff hitter Felipe Lopez followed Penny's grand slam with another first — the first review of a potential homer at Busch Stadium since Major League Baseball instituted limited use of video replay. Lopez's shot clanked off the signage just beyond the wall in right field. The umpiring crew, convened by chief Gary Darling, delayed the game two minutes to look over the replay and determined Lopez's hit cleared the wall for a five-run lead.
Piñeiro needed 98 pitches to toss a shutout against Oakland in his previous start. It took him 11 pitches to get leadoff hitter Lopez out, and he needed 29 pitches to escape the first inning with Colby Rasmus' two-run triple as the only damage. The Angels seized a lead for him in the second inning with four runs, including Mike Napoli's two-run homer, off Penny. The Cardinals' righthander said he felt fine in the first, but the strained muscle began balking in his second and third innings.
An RBI triple by Lopez and a bloop single by Ryan Ludwick tied the score, 4-4, in the second inning.
In the third, Penny won it with a swing.
He was lost after that.
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