ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals used a replacement starter before a rain delay of 2 hours, 10 minutes to give Kyle McClellan a chance to pitch.
The Cardinals switched starters due to a threat of a storm, announcing 40-year-old Miguel Batista as the pitcher about 15 minutes before game time Friday night. Batista threw only six pitches, opening with a four-pitch walk to Drew Stubbs with three of the deliveries way out of the strike zone, and Stubbs stole second before umpires called a halt with a 1-1 count on Brandon Phillips with the game only two minutes old.
Reds scheduled starter Edinson Volquez warmed up before the storm hit and was replaced by Matt Maloney, who got his first start of the season. Maloney entered with a 7.45 ERA in four appearances covering 9 2/3 innings.
The majority of a crowd likely in the 30,000 range stuck around despite three tornado sirens sounding and heavy rain, with thousands waiting patiently under the stadium decks.
Batista made his first start since July 27, 2010, when he was an emergency fill-in for Stephen Strasburg with the Washington Nationals. Batista made the Cardinals, his ninth team, as a long reliever.
Batista was 1-0 with 1.29 ERA in five appearances covering seven innings. McClellan is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
