Cardinals' Steven Matz: Likely needs another rehab start

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Matz (back) is expected to make one more minor-league rehab start prior to being activated from the 60-day injured list, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

On Wednesday, Matz made his third rehab start for Triple-A Memphis, striking out three batters in five innings and giving up four earned runs on nine hits and one walk while pushing his pitch count up to 85. Though Matz looks to be fully stretched out at this point, the Cardinals may want to see a sharper outing from the lefty before bringing him back from the IL. According to John Denton of MLB.com, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak previously floated the idea of the team using a six-man rotation down the stretch, though Matz could still find himself as the odd man out for a starting role once he's activated. Lance Lynn (knee) looks to be tracking toward a return from the IL around the same time as Matz, and current fifth starter Andre Pallante (3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in five starts since the All-Star break) may be pitching well enough to keep his spot in the rotation.