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Cardinals' Wellemeyer returns for finale against Tigers

Jun 26, 2008 - 12:35 PM DETROIT (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Cardinals will definitely have one key player return from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday in the rubber match of a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers.

They hope to have two, though.

Todd Wellemeyer (7-2, 3.67 ERA) will take the mound after being out of action since June 13 with elbow stiffness, and slugger Albert Pujols is also eligible to come off the DL.

However, Pujols must pass several intense workouts before the club takes him off the inactive list, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The slugger has been out since June 10 with a calf injury and may be the designated hitter on Thursday.

"I don't know," Pujols told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday when asked about his status. "This is my first time running the bases today. Let's see how I recover. This is something I don't want to push. Every day's getting better. I'm making good progress and I don't want to go backwards."

Wellemeyer, meanwhile, was able to complete a bullpen session Saturday without any difficulty.

His counterpart will be Nate Robertson (6-6, 5.60), who has won five of his last six starts.

The Tigers won, 8-7, on Wednesday on Gary Sheffield's game-winning hit in the last of the ninth. Since returning from the DL on Tuesday, he is 5-for-9 with a home run and three RBI.