Cardinals send winless Reyes down to Class AAA Memphis

ST. LOUIS -- Anthony Reyes, who won the World Series opener for the St. Louis Cardinals last fall but has lost 10 straight regular-season decisions, on Sunday was optioned to Class AAA Memphis.

"He's got some stuff that he can work on but he needs to have some success so he can start getting a better feeling," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He was handling it great, but at some point. ..."

Reliever Todd Wellemeyer will take Reyes' spot in the rotation Wednesday at Colorado. The Cardinals recalled left-hander Troy Cate from Memphis to fill the roster spot.

Wellemeyer, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals on May 15 and has a 2.70 ERA in four appearances with St. Louis, striking out eight and allowing two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Reyes is 0-8 with a 6.08 ERA in nine starts and allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings in a loss to the Nationals on Friday.

-- AP