ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Stephen Piscotty insisted before Sunday's game that his sore left knee is not a big concern.
"No no no," Piscotty told reporters.
Piscotty was out of the starting lineup Sunday for the third time in four games. He aggravated his knee sliding into second base on stolen base attempt Friday and has had a rough start to the season, having undergone concussion protocol after getting hit in the head by a throw home in Tuesday's loss to the Cubs.
"I slid into second the other night when stealing and just kind of bent it a little bit and it was sore in the morning," he said. "So we're taking some precaution with it."
Piscotty's treatment has included ice, heat, stretching and activating the muscles around the knee, he explained.
"The trainers are doing a good job of making it feel better and it feels better today," he said.
Piscotty thought he'd be able to play at some point during Sunday's game, but was not called upon. He said he would be ready to start Monday when the Cardinals begin a three-game series at Washington. 
"Just still a little sore so probably could have gone today," Matheny said. "I imagine at some point you'll see him in the game today, but a good opportunity to get him a little more rest for that and also get Matt Adams some more at-bats."
Rosenthal getting closer
Matheny was asked Sunday if right-hander pitcher Trevor Rosenthal would be traveling with the team on its six-game road trip to Washington and New York.
"Depending on how the meeting with the doctor goes," the manager said. "So if that goes well, there's a chance he'll be traveling with us."
Rosenthal, who has been on the disabled list because of tightness in his right lat muscle, threw bullpen sessions this week and faced hitters in a simulated inning before Saturday's game.
The expectation is Rosenthal will be cleared and activated.
Asked what role the hard-throwing righty will fill when he's cleared, Matheny said only that Rosenthal will be in the back end of the bullpen somewhere.
"I think we're still defining that," Matheny said. "You bring in another pitcher like we've done with [Brett] Cecil just to see how he's going to work and where he fits in and how his role will be defined. I think you just have to kind of roll with it and it will be matchup-driven until it becomes obvious that certain guys should be in certain places.
"We're trying to get the ball to Seunghwan Oh. That's the one constant we know of, is he's going to be finishing the game for us. Just figure out how we can get to him with the lead."
"The next step is live games," Rosenthal said following Sunday's game. "That's where we feel comfortable heading. It's not fun being on the sidelines, especially the first week. I've been anxious to be back out there and be excited to make the trip to Washington. I'm good to go [Monday] if that's what we do."
Lyons set for another rehab start
Lefty Tyler Lyons made his first rehab start for Triple-A Memphis on Friday, throwing 58 pitches over 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
"I heard positive things about his outing," Matheny said. "He felt good today. That's all going in the right direction. Just have to continue to get him built up and also continue to work on how crisp he feels."
Lyons is scheduled to start again for Memphis on Wednesday.