ST. LOUIS -- Using slow-footed catcher Yadier Molina and 34-year old reserve John Mabry as his barometer, Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg declared rookie John Rodriguez(J-Rod) was not well enough to start Sunday evening's game against the Cubs.
Rodriguez mildly sprained his ankle in the third inning of Saturday's game and was only available for pinch-hitting duty.

"I think he could beat Yadi in a race," Weinberg said. "He might not have beaten Mabry."

Rodriguez injured himself while walking up the stairs in the Cardinals' dugout. His cleat caught a nail on one of the steps and he tumbled backward. He reaggravated the injury when he swung at and missed a pitch, but Rodriguez ended up getting a double and an RBI out of the at-bat.

He did some exercises in the outfield with Weinberg before the game started. Both agreed that he was not able to make cuts like he might need to, playing the outfield or running the bases.

"My cuts weren't explosive," Rodriguez said. "I know if I hit something in the gap and have to turn, I won't make it."

Weinberg said Rodriguez is at 75 percent, but expects him to be back to 100 percent by Tuesday (the Cardinals are off on Monday). Rodriguez said that is a 25-percent improvement from how he felt after Saturday's game. He said the most disappointing part about not playing Sunday is that his family back in New York won't get to see him play on national television.

"If I know one thing, my family will be upset because they get to see the game," Rodriguez said. "They saw the game yesterday. I had about 50 phone calls asking what happened."

Rodriguez has provided a huge lift to a team that has been hammered by injuries. Since being called up from Memphis on Monday, he has hit .381 with two homers. He has hit safely in every game he has played in and had two doubles and an RBI before being taken out of Saturday's game.

The Cardinals are without four other starters: Scott Rolen, Molina, Reggie Sanders and Larry Walker. Walker is the only one not on the 15-day disabled list. He has been hampered by a herniated disc that limits the movement in his neck.

Pujols back in lineup: After being a late scratch from Saturday's starting lineup because of a mild strain in his left shoulder, Albert Pujols was back in his usual No. 3 spot in the lineup and playing first base.

After Saturday's game -- in which Pujols came in as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning -- Pujols contended that he felt fine before the game and that there was miscommunication between himself, manager Tony La Russa and Weinberg.

On Sunday, La Russa stood by his actions of taking Pujols out of the starting lineup.

"If we get a bad report on him, we'll scratch him," La Russa said.

Asked why Pujols would say he felt fine before the game, La Russa responded: "He just hit into a double play to end the game. You've got to give the guy a little bit of time to cool off ... like, a week."

More injuries: Walker is not in the starting lineup for the second consecutive night. Weinberg said Walker began experiencing pain in his neck again about a week ago.

Walker took a cortisone shot to relieve the pain from a herniated disc that limited movement in his neck. The shot has worn off, but Walker still does not like the idea of having a needle stuck in his neck.

La Russa said he will meet with team doctors to discuss a plan for Walker. He plans on having Walker when the team travels to San Diego on Tuesday.

Molina, who injured his hand after being hit by a pitch, will remain on the disabled list while the team is on the road.

Abraham and his many positions: Infielder Abraham Nunez has played a big role in the past two games filling in for Rolen at third base.

On Saturday, he had one hit, but scored twice. On one at-bat, Nunez struck out, but the pitch got away from Cubs catcher Michael Barrett and Nunez beat out the throw to first base. Nunez eventually came around to score the Cardinals' fifth run.

Nunez has already had more plate appearances this year (195) in 75 games than he did in 112 games with Pittsburgh (182) last season. La Russa said because Nunez can play second, shortstop and third base, he sees him as the type of player who can get 300-400 at-bats.

"Even when he was hitting .240, I still thought he was a player," La Russa said. "He's still out there getting key hits."

In his first at-bat on Sunday, Nunez hit his fifth home run of the season. He has hit safely in six of the last seven games he has played in and came into Sunday's game with a .292 batting average.

Baby Birds: Chris Gissell (8-6) pitched a complete game for Triple-A Memphis in a 6-2 win over Round Rock. Raul Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and Brandon Berger smacked a solo shot to give the Redbirds a lift. John Nelson tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI double and Robinson Cancel followed with an RBI single for the eventual game-winning run. ... Tyler Minges went 3-for-5 and Shaun Boyd was 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored, but it wasn't enough for Double-A Springfield as it lost, 8-5, to Wichita. ... Brian Martin cranked two home runs, one of which was a grand slam to lead the advanced Class A Palm Beach Cardinals to a 6-1 victory over rival Jupiter. ... Class A Quad Cities snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over Fort Wayne. Nick Stravinoha and Wes Swackhamer each went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Matt Lemancyzyk extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a double. ... The New Jersey Cardinals of Class A muscled their way to a 10-1 win over Vermont, scoring seven runs in the fifth inning, all coming with two outs. Tyler Greene continued his hot swinging as he went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs. Nick Weber (3-1) earned the win by pitching seven scoreless innings and allowing just two hits. ... In rookie ball, the Johnson City Cardinals scored six unearned runs in the ninth inning to topple Kingsport, 11-9. Colby Rasmus and Brian Anderson both had two-run singles in the ninth. Charles Carter hit a two-run homer in the first and drove in a run in the ninth. Kevin Fitzgerald earned his seventh save of the year and Daniel Borne notched his first win

This day in Busch History: July 24, 1991 Jose Oquendo's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth scored Felix Jose and the Cardinals walked off with a 4-3 win over the Astros.

Oquendo went 3-for-4 with the RBI and Jose added three hits. Todd Zeile hit his seventh home run of the year in the sixth inning and starting pitcher Ken Hill singled in Tom Pagnozzi as the Cardinals took a 3-1 lead in the inning. Reliever Lee Smith pitched the final inning and was credited with the win.

On deck: The Cardinals receive a day off on Monday before traveling to San Diego to take on the Padres. Mark Mulder (11-5, 3.98 ERA) will take the mound against former Redbird Woody Williams (5-6, 4.57 ERA).
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