Carpenter OK for next start

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter said Saturday that his bruised right thumb was much improved since he was injured the previous night, and he believes he'll be able to make his next start.

In fact, Carpenter said he thought he could pitch Saturday.

"That's how good it feels," Carpenter said. "It's still swollen and it's definitely got a bruise, but I can squeeze and move it and do all of my normal stuff. So I'm excited about it."

Carpenter, the National League Cy Young winner last year and 10-6 with a 3.06 ERA this season, said he intended to go through his normal routine between starts. His next scheduled start is Wednesday at Cincinnati.

"Last night," he said, "I couldn't even move it."

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was more cautious, although he said Carpenter was "much improved."

"We'll see what that turns out to be," La Russa said. "Let's leave it at that."

Carpenter was hurt trying to block a grounder up the middle by the Brewers' Bill Hall in the sixth inning of a 4-3 loss to the Brewers on Friday night.

X-rays taken during the game indicated no break. Trainer Barry Weinberg said Saturday the swelling and soreness were down and that Carpenter had good strength in his grip.

"With the way I felt about it last night, I wasn't excited about what the next few days were going to bring," Carpenter said. "When I woke up this morning, I was very pleasantly surprised with the way that it felt."

No change in rotation

La Russa said Friday he's not interested in preparing young bullpen standout Adam Wainwright for a starting spot, insisting that Jeff Weaver is in no danger of losing his spot despite an 8.68 ERA after four starts.

Wainwright, acquired in a deal with the Braves in 2004, is one of the team's top starting prospects along with fellow rookie Anthony Reyes, who is in the rotation due to Mark Mulder's shoulder injury.

Wainwright is 2-1 with a 2.62 ERA in 42 games as a middle reliever and occasional setup man. But the 24-year-old right-hander has totaled only 55 innings in those outings, and La Russa said the only way to get his arm conditioned for starting work was to send him "down to Triple-A for a couple of weeks."

Neither is the team considering recalling right-hander Brad Thompson from Class AAA Memphis and plugging him into the rotation, according to La Russa. Thompson was 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 24 innings heading into a start on Friday night.

"I'm not going to feed the frenzy," La Russa said. "It's been considered, you look at it."

La Russa said Weaver, who has allowed 18 runs on 32 hits in 18 2/3 innings since being acquired from the Angels in early July, does not face a win-or-else scenario in his next start on Monday at Cincinnati.