Cardinals activate Holland, put Bowman on 10-day DL
The St. Louis Cardinals swapped out two relief pitchers Tuesday, one a spot closer who took the loss in Monday night's 10th-inning heartbreak at Philadelphia, the other the club's would-be closer who has struggled mightily.
The Cardinals activated Greg Holland from the 10-day disabled list and placed Matt Bowman on the 10-day DL with right hand middle finger blisters.
Bowman, 27, was the losing pitcher against the Phillies, who scored two runs in the bottom of the 10th after the Cardinals had taken a one-run lead in the top of the frame. Bowman, who is 0-2 with a 5.75 ERA in 20 games this season, previously missed 26 games (May 18-June 14) with finger blisters.
Holland, who signed a one-year, $14 million contract at the beginning of the season, presumably to be the club's closer, has been out since May 26 with a right hip impingement. He had gone 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA in 13 1/3 innings (18 games) prior to the DL stint. The right-hander is coming off a five-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis and Double-A Springfield. He allowed four runs and struck out four batters over five innings.
