St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals third baseman David Freese (thumb) returned to the starting lineup and made his presence felt in a big way Friday night against the Dodgers.

Freese doubled in a run in the second inning and launched his second home run of the season -- a two-run shot -- in the sixth inning. He finished 2 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and three RBI in a 7-0 win.

Freese has recorded a hit in each of his last four games. He is hitting .400 (6 for 15) with two home runs and eight RBI over that span.

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn turned in a dominant performance as he struck out nine and picked up his seventh win of the season Friday night against the Dodgers.

Lynn (7-1), who made his 10th start of the season, fired six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits in a 7-0 victory. He issued one walk and threw 77 pitches, 53 called for strikes. His ERA improved from 3.27 to 2.95 after Friday's win.

Lynn is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday at home against Kansas City. He is 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA in five starts at home this season.

Cardinals outfield prospect Oscar Taveras, who has been sidelined since May 12 with an ankle injury, has been doing running and agility drills and is expected to return to the starting lineup at Triple-A Memphis Sunday, according to MLB.com.

Cardinals starting pitcher Jake Westbrook was able to play catch Friday off flat ground, another sign that the setback he had Wednesday is not serious.  

Westbrook told MLB.com afterwards that he felt fine but does not have a set throwing schedule, after cutting a bullpen session short Wednesday. He said he is taking his recovery day-to-day until the team can determine the next step to take.

Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia underwent season-ending shoulder surgery Friday to repair the torn labrum and rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

"Overall, it went very well," general manager John Mozeliak told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Garcia will rehabilitate and recover over the offseason, and is expected to be ready for the start of training camp next season. Garcia was found to have these injuries last season, but opted to avoid surgery in favor of rehabilitation and strengthening, but the issue came back last weekend.

He finished the season with a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. He went 2-5 in nine starts.