Walden's rehab moves to Triple-A Memphis

By Jenifer Langosch

July 28, 2015

ST. LOUIS -- After a stop in St. Louis on Monday to be evaluated by the Cardinals' medical staff, rehabbing right-hander Jordan Walden headed for Memphis, where he was to continue his rehab assignment with the Triple-A club.

Walden, who landed on the disabled list on April 30 with right biceps inflammation, threw two scoreless innings for Double-A Springfield before making the move to the higher affiliate. The Cardinals anticipate Walden returning to their bullpen within the next week.

The organization has said it would like to see Walden pitch on back-to-back days before activating him.

Worth noting

• Yadier Molina, who exited in the middle of Monday's game after feeling ill from dehydration and a foul tip off his mask, was back in the lineup on Tuesday. Molina passed concussion tests and was given an IV to address the hydration issue.

• Outfielder Randal Grichuk remained out of the lineup a second straight day while continuing to nurse a right groin injury. Manager Mike Matheny was unsure whether Grichuk would be available off the bench for Tuesday's game.

• In his first Triple-A start since May, lefty Marco Gonzales allowed four runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings against Iowa (Cubs) on Monday. Gonzales walked one, struck out three and threw 52 of his 75 pitches for strikes. Gonzales has been slowly climbing the Minor League ladder as he works his way back from a shoulder impingement injury.

• Jason Heyward's absence from Tuesday's starting lineup was planned, Matheny said, as the Cardinals wanted to work in some downtime for their right fielder. Heyward had started 39 of the team's previous 40 games. With Heyward sitting, Stephen Piscotty made his debut in right field.

• With concerns about the heat index -- which reached over 100 degrees on Tuesday afternoon -- Matheny cancelled on-field batting practice and made the report time for his players more than an hour later than usual.

• The Arizona Fall League announced organization and staff assignments for its 2015 season on Tuesday. The Cardinals' AFL participants will be placed on the Surprise Saguaros club, along with players from the Royals, Brewers, Yankees and Rangers. The Cardinals will not have a Minor League coach on the Surprise staff.

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB and like her Facebook page Jenifer Langosch for Cardinals.com.