Cards face pitching questions in playoff race

ST. LOUIS — Just hours before the opening game of the Cardinals’ final homestand went terribly awry, manager Mike Matheny laid out what he hoped would be. In order to see “a great finish here at home,” he said, St. Louis, still in the thick of the National League Wild Card race, would need to play “just solid all-out baseball.”

That optimism was snuffed out by what followed, as the Cardinals endured arguably their worst performance in this already uneven season. A 15-2 loss to the Reds not only precluded the Cardinals from moving into a tie for the second Wild Card spot, but it foiled an opportunity to generate momentum leading into this final week of the regular season.

Instead, the Cardinals brought forth more questions — the most pressing being who can the team trust to start a potentially crucial game on Saturday?

“I don’t even know,” Matheny acknowledged, when asked about his upcoming pitching plans. “I have no idea right now. Yeah, I have no idea.”

Jaime Garcia, moved back into the rotation after pitching well in two relief appearances, lasted 21 pitches on Monday night. Four first-inning hits, including two home runs, and three stolen bases was all Matheny needed to see before making his first of six pitching changes.

Garcia’s last two starts, …

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