Matheny shuffles lineup in advance of matinee finale

MILWAUKEE -- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny shuffled his lineup Tuesday, sitting regulars Matt Carpenter and Allen Craig with Wednesday's matinee finale against the Brewers looming.

"Some guys that look like they could use a day," Matheny said. "Every one of them said the exact same thing: They want to keep playing. That's exactly what you want to hear. But when it doesn't look right, you know that physically there are some things they're trying to fight through, too. You're just trying to find days."

Matheny said Tuesday was a good option before Wednesday's 1 p.m. CT game.

Daniel Descalso, Matt Adams and David Freese all contributed key pinch-hits in the Cardinals' four-run eighth inning of Monday's 8-5 win, and all were in Tuesday's lineup.

"It is a balance, but I also have a lot of faith in the guys that we have," Matheny said. "You look at our lineup, and that's a legit lineup, and we have two of our everyday guys out. As we go down this stretch, we're going to need everybody. We saw that yesterday. If we just put guys completely on the shelf and don't give them opportunities, we can't expect to come through in situations like last night."