Cardinals' Steven Matz: Ramping up activity

Matz (back) played catch off the mound Friday in St. Louis, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Matz has been on the 15-day injured list since May 3 while dealing with a lower-back strain, more specifically a protruding disc, but manager Oli Marmol said Friday that the expectation for the left-hander is for him to throw at a higher intensity Monday. It's unclear how close Matz is to returning to game action, but prior to being activated from the injured list, he'll likely have to make at least one rehab start with a minor-league affiliate.