Reyes steps up after Garcia falters

ST. LOUIS — His club knotted in a Wild Card race that offers little room for error, manager Mike Matheny simply could not justify letting starter Jaime Garcia try to fight the fatigue and correct the mechanical issues that surfaced again on Tuesday.

With the Cubs one hit away from blowing open a game that could have positioned them for a division-clinching celebration at Busch Stadium, Matheny made a move steeped in urgency. Thus the game became Alex Reyes’ to control, and he did just that to help lift the Cardinals to a 4-2 victory that enabled them to keep pace with the Mets in the Wild Card race.

“When it doesn’t look right, we have to figure it out,” Matheny said. “We were up against a wall. That was a swing point of that game, and Alex did something special to keep us in it.”

Now the question becomes whether Reyes, after bailing out Garcia, replaces Garcia in the rotation. Garcia’s next start would come on Sunday in what sets up to be a critical game against the Wild Card-leading Giants. Asked if it is a start Garcia would make, Matheny hedged.

“We’ll see,” he said.

Garcia’s issues on Tuesday were hardly isolated. He entered the night on the heels of a 3 2/3-inning start against the Brewers and had posted an 8.06 ERA over his previous five outings. Tuesday began with Dexter …

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