Liner knocks Miller out on 2nd pitch

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals rookie Shelby Miller was struck by Carl Crawford's liner on his right elbow on his second pitch of the game, cutting short his start on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 22-year-old Miller held his arm in pain as he walked off the field accompanied by a team trainer. Crawford's liner bounded into shallow left field for a double and Miller bent over in pain while getting the elbow massaged.

The team described the injury as a right elbow contusion and said X-rays were negative.

Fellow rookie Michael Blazek replaced Miller, who began the day with an 11-7 record and a 2.89 ERA.

Jake Westbrook, scheduled to start the series finale on Thursday night, began warming up in the first inning and entered on three days' rest in the second inning. Blazek hasn't pitched more than one inning.

Carlos Martinez, among the team's top pitching prospects, is scheduled to start Thursday for Triple-A Memphis and could be promoted to face the Dodgers. The 21-year-old right-hander is 4-2 with a 1.76 ERA in the minors and made his major league debut earlier this year out of the bullpen, with a 5.56 ERA in 11 1-3 innings over 10 appearances.

The 35-year-old Westbrook made his first regular-season relief appearance since April 19, 2004, when he worked seven perfect innings for Cleveland against Detroit.

Westbrook retired just one of the first six batters in the Dodgers' second and got a visit from pitching coach Derek Lilliquist after an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez made it 3-0. Skip Schumaker's bases-loaded two-run single capped a six-run inning with the Dodgers getting 10 at-bats.