Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha, who last week got his first win of 2019, has been placed on the 10-day injured list with tendinitis in his left knee, the team announced Monday.
The move is retroactive to April 19, two days after Wacha went six innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits, in a 6-3 victory over the Brewers.
Wacha was set to start Tuesday, the Cardinals' fifth consecutive day with a game, so no starter would be ready on normal rest, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted .
Among options at Triple-A Memphis, Austin Gomber (2-0, 3.22 ERA at Triple-A) started Saturday for the Redbirds, so would be unavailable. Daniel Ponce de Leon (2-0, 3.64 at Triple-A) would be on turn in the Memphis rotation but isn't listed as a probable starter this week, according to the Post-Dispatch.
In a corresponding move to placing Wacha on the IL, the Cardinals recalled infielder-outfielder Drew Robinson from Memphis, so another move would be necessary if Ponce de Leon starts Tuesday night against the visiting Brewers.
Wacha (1-0) was 8-2 in 2018, but missed much of the season with a strained left oblique. He had reached double digits in victories in two of the previous three seasons.
He has a team-best 4.64 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings this season. The team described his problem as patellar tendinitis in his left knee.
St. Louis (12-9) is tied for second in the NL Central with the Brewers (13-5), a game back of the first-place Pirates, ahead of Monday night's opener of a three-game series against Milwaukee.
Cardinals starters are 6-5 this season, with only Miles Mikolas, at 2-1, having more than one win.
