The Cardinals have decided on a fill-in for starting pitcher Joe Kelly, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday afternoon with a strained left hamstring that he suffered Wednesday at Miller Park in Milwaukee while trying to beat out a groundball.
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch it’ll be 26-year-old left-hander Tyler Lyons, and he will make his first start Monday evening in the Cards’ series-opener versus the Mets at Citi Field.
Lyons will likely remain in the St. Louis rotation for two turns, assuming Kelly’s hamstring strain isn’t too severe. Carlos Martinez — who nearly won the fifth starter spot over Kelly this spring — will remain in a setup role for now.
Lyons threw seven innings of one-run ball Wednesday for Triple-A Memphis. He had a 4.75 ERA, 1.226 WHIP, and 43/16 K/BB ratio in 53 innings last season as an emergency starter and long reliever for the Cardinals.
