Lyons gets crack at filling in for Wainwright
ST. LOUIS -- Tyler Lyons arrived in St. Louis on Monday in preparation for making his first big league start of 2015. On Tuesday, his recall became official, with right-handed reliever Sam Tuivailala being sent down to make room for him.
Lyons becomes the second spot starter to fill Adam Wainwright's place in the rotation. Tim Cooney tried unsuccessfully last week before being sent back to Triple-A.
Over the last two seasons, Lyons has made 12 starts for the Cardinals, going 2-7 with a 5.89 ERA. Those two wins actually came in his first two Major League outings, both of which featured Lyons allowing one run over seven innings.
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"Every time you come up here, you hope to learn something and get comfortable," Lyons said on Monday. "Being my third season up here, hopefully I've picked up enough along the way and kind of know what to expect. Hopefully it will translate into the game."
Lyons made four Triple-A starts before learning on Sunday that he was next in line for a big league summons. In his most recent start last Tuesday, Lyons scattered six hits over eight scoreless innings. His first start of the year came against the Iowa Cubs, which means he has already faced two batters -- Kris Bryant and Addison Russell -- who he is likely to see in Tuesday's lineup. Russell homered off of him on what Lyons described as an elevated changeup.
With Marco Gonzales and Jaime Garcia still likely at least two weeks away from being ready for rotation consideration, Lyons has an opportunity to seize the open rotation spot with a strong start on Tuesday.
"For me, it's about establishing my fastball, getting ahead and being able to control counts and being able to get to my secondary stuff," Lyons said. "When I've been successful at whatever level, it's usually because of that. And whenever I've failed at whatever level, it's because of that. I have figured out what I have to do to be successful. Now I just have to go out and do it."