Worth noting

• The Cardinals still anticipate that catcher Yadier Molina (right knee sprain) and outfielder Shane Robinson (right shoulder sprain) will come off the disabled list before the club plays on Thursday. The club will have to make a pair of moves to clear space for both on the 25-man roster. General manager John Mozeliak said on Wednesday that he has not yet decided whether three catchers will be kept on the roster.

• In his first start since returning to Triple-A, Carlos Martinez allowed five hits and three earned runs in Memphis' win on Tuesday. Martinez walked one, struck out three and threw 57 of his 91 pitches for strikes.

• The Cubs announced on Wednesday that they have reworked their rotation for their upcoming weekend series against the Cardinals. Chicago will call Jake Arrieta up from Triple-A to face Jake Westbrook on Friday; Travis Wood will oppose Joe Kelly on Saturday; and Edwin Jackson will go against Adam Wainwright in the series finale.

• Though Tuesday's three-hour, 55-minute win went late into the night because an extra five innings were needed to determine a winner, the sluggish pace of game is hardly a new phenomenon for the Cardinals. Each of the team's last 13 games has lasted at least three hours, and during that stretch, the Cardinals have had an average game time of three hours, 24 minutes.

It may not be a coincidence, either, that this period of lengthy games started when the Cardinals lost Molina. Neither Rob Johnson nor Tony Cruz have the same level of familiarity with the pitching staff, which could be one reason why the pace has slowed.

• Matt Carpenter has put away his razor ... for now, he says. It's not yet time for playoff beards, but superstition has Carpenter sticking with the facial hair as the Cardinals try to get back on track and gain on the Pirates' division lead.

"We were just going through a rough stretch, then I grew it out and we started winning a few games," Carpenter said on Wednesday. "So it's going to stay for a while."