Cardinals’ Lankford Takes Pains To Play

Less than two weeks ago Ray Lankford tore the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. On Wednesday night he’ll be back in the starting lineup when the St. Louis Cardinals open their N.L. Championship Series with the Atlanta Braves.

“It’s not going to be 100 percent the rest of the year,” Lankford said Monday. “It’s still going to bother me, but I can play through it.”

Lankford was injured making a diving catch in center field Sept. 27, and the initial prognosis was grim since the injury was to his throwing shoulder. Two days after the injury, he couldn’t lift his shoulder.

But there he was a few days later, flipping the ball and taking batting practice. And in Game 3 of the Cardinals’ first-round playoff sweep of San Diego, he entered as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement in the fifth inning.

Now he’s back, or close enough to being back for the Cardinals, who return 37-year-old Willie McGee to the bench.

“There are certain things you can do, depending on how severe the injury,” manager Tony La Russa said. “It was just a matter of how quickly the pain would become tolerable.

“His attitude is right. No doubt, Ray will play.”

Left fielder Ron Gant missed only three games when he tore his rotator cuff in late August, but not to his throwing shoulder. He’s somewhat surprised to see Lankford, who batted .275 with 21 home runs and 86 RBIs, batting in front of him again.

“I thought it was going to take longer,” Gant said. “If you tear the rotator cuff completely it’s a real serious injury. Luckily, both of us came out on the good end of that.”

Wohlers feasted on Cardinals

Reliever Mark Wohlers is coming off an impressive series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. St. Louis is next for the Braves and Wohlers was very nearly perfect against the Cardinals during the regular season.

Wohlers pitched one-hit ball over 3-1/3 innings as the Braves eliminated the Dodgers in three games, recording saves in each game. During the regular season, the hard-throwing right-hander had a club-record 39 saves.

Wohlers, 26, took over the role of closer in June 1995 and had 25 saves during the regular season before going 1-1 with four saves last year in the postseason.

Against the Cardinals this year, the Braves were 9-4. Wohlers had five saves in eight games over nine innings and St. Louis didn’t score a run off him. He allowed only four hits and struck out 15.

The Braves will use the same starting rotation that was so effective against the Dodgers - John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. The Cards throw Andy Benes in Game 1, followed by Todd Stottlemyre and Donovan Osborne.