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Looking to buy their starting pitchers some rest during the final three weeks of the season http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-ross-stripling-jersey , the St. Louis Cardinals have opted for a six-man rotation on this turn through it.The sixth man goes Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Busch Stadium, where St. Louis tries for a series sweep and to solidify its postseason position.Rookie Daniel Poncedeleon (0-1, 2.67 ERA) gets the call for the Cardinals, who moved three games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League’s second wild card spot Tuesday night. They routed Pittsburgh 11-5 while Los Angeles continued its season-long pratfall against Cincinnati, losing 3-1 to fall to 0-6 against the Reds.Article continues below ...Poncedeleon will make his first big league appearance against the Pirates and his fourth start in 10 big league games. His last start was Sept. 1, when he retired the first 10 Cincinnati batters he faced and then didn’t get another out in a 4-0 loss, allowing five hits and three runs.Manager Mike Shildt has sought to juggle the zero-sum mentality of a pennant race with not overworking young starters such as Jack Flaherty, Austin Gomber and John Gant. Hence the insertion of Poncedeleon, who in his first major league game fired seven no-hit innings at Cincinnati on July 23.“It’s a balancing act of rest, who we’re playing and looking at the total schedule and making sure we’re putting our best foot forward,” Shildt said to mlb.com.With an 81-64 record, including a 34-18 mark under Shildt, St. Louis has certainly done that. Its latest win allowed the Cardinals to pull within 1 1/2 games of Milwaukee, a 3-0 loser at the Chicago Cubs Yasmani Grandal Jersey , for the first NL wild card spot.The Cardinals remain 3 1/2 games behind Chicago for first place in the NL Central.St. Louis used an offensive explosion over the last three innings to break open a 2-1 game. Its six-run eighth eliminated suspense from the equation, a welcome change from a spate of back-and-forth games that had marked its last eight games.Tyler O’Neill highlighted the eighth with a three-run, 457-foot homer to left-center, the team’s third-longest blast of the year.“We’ve been on such an incredible run since Shildt took over,” O’Neill said. “We’ve got the playoffs in our sights.”All Pittsburgh (71-73) has in its sights is the opportunity to play spoiler over its last 18 games. It will turn to Jameson Taillon (12-9, 3.40) in an attempt to avoid being swept.Taillon hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in 10 straight starts, going 6-2 in that span and registering eight quality starts.He notched a 3-2 victory Sept. 5 against Cincinnati, scattering eight hits over five innings and allowing one run with no walks and six strikeouts. Taillon has pitched well in seven career starts against the Cardinals, going 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA and fanning 42 hitters over 40 1/3 innings.“He’s got a determination and focus that’s real,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said to mlb.com of Taillon. “He’s got a great recall of what he wants to do. He’s got some history in the league now.” The New York Yankees are getting healthy.And that makes manager Aaron Boone happy.Shortstop Didi Gregorius was activated off the 10-day disabled list Friday and played for the first time since suffering a left heel contusion in an Aug. 19 collision with Toronto first baseman Kendrys Morales. Article continues below ...Gregorius didn’t start but came on as a defensive substitute in the bottom of the sixth inning and likely will start in Saturday’s game against the host Seattle Mariners.“We’ll ease Didi back in, not having played any rehab games,” Boone said. “The hope will be to get him in at some point (Friday). And if everything goes well, probably start him (Saturday) — not necessarily the whole game — and kind of build him back in that way. With September, we have the bodies that we can get other guys in there and not be up against it.”Boone stressed the importance of having Gregorius back http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-joc-pederson-jersey , both offensively and defensively.“He’s a left-handed hitter and being able to hit him in different spots throughout the middle of the order, he balances us out,” Boone said. “He’s so steady for us at shortstop. The intangible things he does as far as leading our infield and always has his eye in the dugout, knows where to be. He’s kind of like a quarterback out there at shortstop.”Just as importantly, outfielder Aaron Judge participated in on-field drills Friday for the first time since suffering a fractured right wrist July 26.Judge hit balls off a tee before taking some underhand tosses from hitting coach Marcus Thomas.“This is what we’ve been waiting for this whole time, for that pain to get out of there, for him to be able to really swing,” Boone said. “I think he’s starting to get at least a little bit excited about how he’s feeling when he’s swinging the bat. The ball is coming off real nice. Just positive steps for Aaron.”That next step will be batting practice, then some simulated games. Judge has said he hopes to be playing in games within the next two weeks.“Hopefully, now the progression is one that moves now, now that he’s to this point where he can do everything,” Boone said. “Now it’s just a matter of getting back up to baseball speed, building that stamina and then obviously graduating to live pitching, to seeing an actual pitcher.”Yankees right-hander Lance Lynn (8-10 Clayton Kershaw Jersey , 5.10 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday against Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (8-13, 5.55). Lynn will be facing Seattle for the first time; Hernandez is 10-7 with a 3.00 ERA in 22 career starts against the Yankees. Hernandez won his only start against New York this season, giving up two runs (one earned) in five innings.The Mariners, who are trying to stay in the American League’s wild-card race behind the Yankees and Oakland, also got some good news on the injury front Friday, as left-hander Marco Gonzales threw 35 pitches off the mound.Mariners manager Scott Servais said Gonzales, who has been on the disabled list with a strained cervical muscle in his neck, will be activated in time to start Tuesday against San Diego.Gonzales was 12-5 before going 0-4 with a 10.35 ERA in four August starts.“I want to see the same guy we saw in June and July,” Servais said. “He was cruising. He does feel fine physically and is throwing all his pitches in the bullpen. He probably won’t go as long. First time out, you’re probably looking at 75 pitches or something like that. Again, we just want to see him healthy, executing pitches and feeling good about things.”Meanwhile the Mariners will try to rebound from getting shut out and being held to three hits in its seventh loss in 11 games.