SAN DIEGO -- Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright will be activated from the disabled list and return to face the Padres in Sunday's series finale.
After going 1-2 in three starts, Wainwright began experiencing pain in his pitching elbow, which was repaired last fall. But Wainwright, who went to the DL on April 20, said he felt fine on Friday after Thursday's bullpen session.
Manager Mike Matheny said Wainwright has been tinkering with his delivery to reduce the strain on his elbow.
"I think he is an adaptable and he is a fierce competitor,'' Matheny said. "He's been working on some things to try and make it feel right and work right. We've had good reports with what we saw in [Double-A] Springfield. He was moving it around, keeping guys off balance and locating it where he wanted to.''
Matheny said the Cardinals were patient with Wainwright's recovery.
"We just had to take time so we could make sure he was ready to go,'' Matheny said. "Especially when you have the DL you are talking about. If it wasn't right and you try to go to him and you could be starting that all over again. That just doesn't make sense.''
In addition to folding Wainwright into the rotation, Matheny said right-hander Jack Flaherty will return and start on Tuesday at Minnesota. Flaherty had 13 strikeouts for Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.
"You talk about intensity and discipline,'' Matheny said of Flaherty's makeup. "In addition to his stuff, which includes good movement on his fastball.''