Cards pair Cruz with Lynn in battery

WASHINGTON -- Having helped navigate Lance Lynn through seven scoreless innings in his start on Monday, Tony Cruz returned as Lynn's batterymate in Saturday's outing against the Nationals.

These two starts are Cruz's only ones through the first 18 games of the season. Last season, the club went 14-14 when he was behind the plate. On Monday, he caught the team's second shutout of the season.

"I thought [Lynn] and Tony had a nice feel for what was working for him that particular day against that particular lineup," Matheny said. "It's always going to be an adjustment because each lineup has a different approach to every starter."

In addition to wanting to keep that rapport between Lynn and Cruz rolling, Matheny said he has been looking for opportunities to rest starting catcher Yadier Molina while the Cardinals wade through a stretch of 20 games in 20 days. Having a day game following Friday's night game played into that decision to make this one of those days off.