Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia (groin) has start pushed back

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia had his scheduled start Thursday against the San Diego Padres scratched because of a mild left groin strain.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia had his scheduled start Thursday against the San Diego Padres scratched because of a mild left groin strain, but he says he is hoping to pitch again next week against the Chicago Cubs and will avoid the disabled list for now.

Garcia was injured rounding third base before scoring a run in the eighth inning of a June 24 start against the Miami Marlins.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said after the team's 7–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday that team will call up lefthander Tim Cooney from Triple A Memphis to start the series opener against the Padres. Cooney was yanked from his start on Sunday after throwing only 26 pitches in anticipation that the team might need him for a spot start later in the week.

Garcia said that expects to throw a side session sometime in the next few days.

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"I don't want to go on the DL ever again in my career," Garcia said to MLB.com. "I want to be out there every single start, and that's my goal, to make every start the rest of the year. I'm doing everything in my control to make that happen."

Garcia is 3–3 with a 1.69 ERA in seven starts this season after having thoracic outlet surgery, which kept him out of action for the majority of the past two seasons.

The Cardinals (51–26) have the best record in baseball and lead the National League Central by seven games over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

- Scooby Axson