Redbirds will sit a starter for first playoff series

La Russa plans to remove one of his five successful starters from the rotation.

By R.B. Fallstrom ~ The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- All five members of the St. Louis Cardinals' rotation are double-figure winners, but one will likely be left out in the first round of the playoffs.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, whose team entered Tuesday night's game against the Padres with a 17-game lead in the National League Central, has used a four-man rotation in past postseasons. He said Saturday he won't go with a five-man alignment. Prior to Saturday, La Russa had avoided discussing the topic.

"It would not give you your best chance to win," La Russa said.

La Russa also is not likely to go with a shorter rotation and use a pitcher on three days' rest, even though he said any of the five likely could do it.

"Any of them are capable of throwing on three days' rest," La Russa said. "But since they haven't been doing it we'll try to avoid it."

It'll be an interesting choice who gets bypassed because all five have solid credentials. The Cardinals have five pitchers with 10 or more wins for the first time since 2000, when Darryl Kile, Rick Ankiel, Garrett Stephenson, Pat Hentgen and Andy Benes did it.

Benes, who had been bothered by a knee injury, was held out the 2000 postseason until the NLCS against the Mets when he provided the Cardinals' only victory of that series.

Matt Morris (15-8, 4.40) has the highest ERA on the staff but he's coming off perhaps the best game of his career, a two-hit shutout of the Dodgers on Friday. He's also a former 20-game winner and has been the No. 1 starter most of his career.

Chris Carpenter (14-5, 3.37) has been the most dominant starter this season after missing most of the last two seasons following a pair of shoulder operations. He has set a career best for victories.

So has Jeff Suppan (14-6, 3.98), who last week topped his previous best of 13 victories set last year.

Jason Marquis (14-4, 3.44) has made a huge rebound after spending most of last season in the Atlanta Braves' minor league system and winning zero games at the big-league level.

"We knew he had a good arm," La Russa said of Marquis. "We didn't know until he got here how determined he was. Once we got him in spring training, we started getting really excited about him."

Woody Williams (10-7, 4.00) has come on strong after faltering early due to shoulder tendinitis in spring training. He has won seven of his last eight decisions and has been highly regarded and highly successful since coming in a trade from the Padres in 2000.

So, who sits? Stay tuned.

"It's a good problem we have," La Russa said. "That's one reason why we've got this good of a record."