Last Call

• Norickhia Aoki, still adjusting to the more grueling Major League Baseball schedule, started again Sunday amid an 0-for-11 funk. Roenicke wanted to give Aoki a day off Thursday in Miami, but Aoki instructed translator Kosuke Inaji to call the manager that morning to request a spot in the lineup.

"They know more about themselves than I do; they're out there every day," Roenicke said.

• Roenicke declined to give the Cardinals a roadmap, but conceded that some of his late-inning relievers were unavailable Sunday because of a recent heavy workload. Closer John Axford was almost certainly one of them after pitching six of the first eight days in September. Francisco Rodriguez and Jim Henderson had each pitched four of the previous five days.

"Somebody else is going to have to do it tonight," Roenicke said.

• The Brewers claimed Minor League left-hander Miguel De Los Santos off waivers from the Rangers, that club told reporters. With De Los Santos, the Brewers have 39 players on their 40-man roster. He is not related to Fautino De Los Santos, a right-hander reliever acquired last month in a trade with the A's.