Lyons lands on DL with left shoulder strain

ST. LOUIS -- Though he did not use shoulder discomfort as an excuse for a poor start, Tyler Lyons, a day after allowing nine runs in four innings, was placed on the disabled list by the Cardinals with a left shoulder strain on Tuesday.

Lyons said he felt nothing unusual over the first two innings, during which he allowed seven runs. There was some soreness in the third inning, he said, and it then increased when he returned to the mound to warm up for the fourth.

"You deal with stuff on and off throughout the season, but that was the first time I felt it toward the end of the game," he said. "Early in the game, I felt really good. I felt really good in the bullpen. I felt good the first couple innings. It just kind of came after that."

Lyons said he has already had some preliminary tests on the shoulder and that an MRI was to be administered at some point. The Cardinals' medical staff was also scheduled to further examine Lyons later Tuesday afternoon.

"I don't think they anticipate anything being serious," he said. "We're just trying to be cautious and go through the steps and see what it is and where we need to go from here."