The Cardinals called on recently acquired right-hander Tyson Ross to make a spot start for Luke Weaver in Sunday's 8-2 win over the Royals after Weaver sliced his right index finger while opening the aluminum top to a food container on Saturday night.
Interim manager Mike Shildt was made aware of Weaver's injured finger late in Saturday's game at Kauffman Stadium and he alerted Ross to the possibility that he might be needed in the I-70 Series finale. Though Weaver was ready to pitch through the issue, the Cardinals instead opted to proceed cautiously.
"It's one of those things that if we push it and he's expected to go out there and throw 90-100 pitches or so, the expectation that is going to last for today is not overly high in a positive sense," Shildt said. "Everyone was pretty optimistic he could have gone out and given it a shot, but just made a decision based on where we are and what we have that this made sense in short- and long-term to give him a day."
The training staff applied "magical super glue," to expedite the healing process, Shildt said, and the Cardinals expect Weaver to be ready to start when his rotation spot comes back around on Friday.
The Cards were fortunate to have a starter-in-waiting in Ross, who hadn't appeared in a game since the club claimed him off waivers last Sunday. He threw 95 pitches over five innings for the Padres in his previous outing on Aug. 3.
Ross worked out of trouble in the first inning on Sunday by inducing an inning-ending double play after an error led to an early 1-0 lead for the Royals. He went six innings and allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts to earn the win, his seventh of the season.
