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Cardinals place Garcia on 15-day DL

Left-handers Lyons, Cooney to start in doubleheader vs. Cubs

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia has been scratched from his scheduled start on Tuesday and placed on the 15-day disabled list after feeling renewed discomfort around his left groin following a bullpen session on Saturday.

The change in plans means the Cardinals will now send a pair of young lefties -- Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney -- to the mound in Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cubs. Manager Mike Matheny said that he has not yet determined the order in which the two will pitch in the twin bill.

Garcia last pitched on June 24, when he went seven innings before feeling a groin pull while running the bases in the top of the eighth. The Cardinals refrained from immediately placing Garcia on the DL, thinking that he would only need to miss one start. That optimism remained as recently as Saturday, when, after throwing off the mound for the first time since suffering the injury, Garcia told the staff all felt fine.

Shortly afterward, however, his tone changed.

"I started out OK, but I knew something wasn't feeling right," Garcia said on Sunday. "We were just trying to be positive about the situation, trying to do everything that was in my control to make it better and heal faster. I don't know what happened."

The Cardinals then sent him to undergo an MRI, which confirmed that he is dealing with a Grade 2 groin strain. They had initially described the issue as a groin cramp.

"It looked like everything was headed in the right direction," Matheny said on Sunday. "We have that process, we put dates together and continue to give those challenges and amp the intensity as a guy prepares and gets ready and follow how they're feeling, and you're always subject to something going backwards."

In order to recall Cooney, who was optioned out after starting in Garcia's place on Thursday, the Cardinals could only backdate Garcia's DL stint to July 4. That will still allow for Garcia to return as early as July 19, which falls during the first series after the All-Star break.

The Cardinals had planned to bring Cooney in as the "26th man" to start on Tuesday, but instead have now added him back onto the 25-man roster. Cooney, who had been temporarily sent to Class A Peoria while in limbo, did not have to wait the requisite 10 days before being recalled because of the DL move.

Now, Lyons, who is 2-0 with a 5.09 ERA in five spot starts with the Cardinals this season, will be summoned as the extra player for the doubleheader game.

After both pitch on Tuesday, the Cardinals will decide which of the two lefties will draw a start next Sunday in the team's final game before the All-Star break.

Worth noting

• Top pitching prospect Marco Gonzales threw live batting practice on Sunday as part of his rehab work in Jupiter, Fla. Gonzales has been out since May 19 while dealing with an impingement in his left shoulder.

• Reliever Jordan Walden (right biceps inflammation) will remain in St. Louis during the next road trip to throw a series of three bullpen sessions. He'll have his first on Monday.

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB, like her Facebook page Jenifer Langosch for Cardinals.com and listen to her podcast.
Read More: St. Louis Cardinals, Jaime Garcia