ST. LOUIS -- Another rough outing for Sam Tuivailala on Thursday marked the end of his stay in St. Louis, as the Cardinals sent the right-handed reliever back to Triple-A Memphis on Friday to work on his command and confidence. Miguel Socolovich was promoted from Memphis in a corresponding move.
Tuivailala joined the Cardinals on Aug. 16 and made four appearances prior to being demoted. Only one of those four was clean. In his last outing, Tuivailala allowed two runs on three hits in the ninth inning of an eventual 10-6 loss.
"He needs to go out there and compete and get a little better feel for his stuff," manager Mike Matheny said. "There are some little things to sharpen up, [like] getting the movement right on that cutter. I think a lot of it has to do with confidence… even his presence. There were some things we started putting a list together of things that I believe will help him to the point of being more consistent. Until then, he's going to have to keep working."
This will be Socolovich's second stint in the Cardinals' bullpen this season. Over 3 2/3 innings in July, the right-handed reliever allowed a home run and struck out five. His ability to throw multiple innings was particularly important for a club that has needed heavy bullpen usage in two of its last three games.
"We have to have pitchers who can come in when we're down and get outs for us and keep some of that burden off of the usual guys, especially the ones we're using a lot while we're winning," Matheny said.
WORTH NOTING:
• Matt Adams homered and drove in two while beginning a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Thursday. Adams took three at-bats in the game and played five innings at first base before being replaced.
• Brayan Peña hit a home run and caught four innings in a rehab appearance with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals on Friday. It marked the first time Pena has been behind the plate in a game since July 5.
• Lance Lynn will make his fourth rehab start next week during Memphis' series against Oklahoma City. He's expected to push his pitch count to about 60 in that outing. Lynn, who is nine months removed from Tommy John surgery, reiterated on Friday that he does not intend to return to the Majors until next season.