Left-hander Tim Cooney will make his major-league debut against the team he grew up dreaming to play for as the Cardinals wrap up their four game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
The 24-year-old, who was recalled Thursday morning to make the first start in place of Adam Wainwright, posted a 2-1 record with a 3.63 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 17.1 innings at AAA Memphis.
Brian Stull of St. Louis Baseball Weekly spoke with Cooney about his debut and provides more on the young lefty:
“I knew I had a chance, it wasn’t first thing on my mind because I wasn’t on the roster,” he explained. “I wasn’t super focused on that, I was just kind of going about my business. But then when I got called in and Schildt (AAA manager) told me I was going to come up, it wasn’t a total shock. It was pretty cool.”
Drafted by the Cardinals in the third round (117th overall) of the 2012 draft, Cooney threw a one-hitter last season in Memphis (AAA) and led the Pacific Coast League with 14 wins.
Cooney’s arsenal includes a four and two seam fastball, curveball, changeup, and a cutter. Plus, at the encouragement of the organization, he’s been continuing his work from last season on a sinker.
Jhonny Peralta, who started the team’s first 20 games, will be getting his first day off of the season on Thursday. Pete Kozma will fill in at shortstop and bat eighth. In other lineup news, after a great performance both in the field and at the plate out of the leadoff spot Wednesday, speedy center fielder Peter Bourjos is back on the bench for Thursday’s action. Jon Jay returns center field and the leadoff spot, with Matt Carpenter hitting second and Jason Heyward in the fifth spot. Here’s the full lineup:
- Jon Jay, CF
- Matt Carpenter, 3B
- Matt Holliday, LF
- Matt Adams, 1B
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Yadier Molina, C
- Kolten Wong, 2B
- Pete Kozma, SS
- Tim Cooney, LHP
The Phillies, meanwhile, will send 25-year-old David Buchanan to the mound against the redbirds Thursday. Buchanan has struggled to a 0-4 record with 7.52 ERA thus far this season. Both left fielder Ben Revere and second baseman Chase Utley are out of the Phillies lineup:
- Odubel Herrera, CF
- Freddy Galvis, SS
- Darin Ruf, LF
- Ryan Howard, 1B
- Jeff Francoeur, RF
- Cesar Hernandez, 2B
- Cody Asche, 3B
- Cameron Rupp, C
- David Buchanan, RHP
First pitch is 12:45 pm CT on Fox Sports Midwest, MLB Network, and the Cardinals Radio Network.
Read more about Thursday’s starter, Tim Cooney from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
