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Matheny not against using Motte tonight

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he did not arrive at the ballpark assuming that closer Jason Motte was unavailable tonight and ready to invoke a no-pitch rule on the reliever because of his pitch count Monday night.

Motte threw 31 pitches -- only the eighth time in his 222 career appearances that he had surpassed 30 pitches in an appearance.

While that might be cause for a guaranteed night off, Matheny wasn't so sure. The manager said he would check with the righty during batting practice, gauge the liveliness of his arm, and likely hope for another reason to use him in the ninth inning. Matheny said there might be some relievers that he would hold back after a lengthy and stressful inning like Motte had on Monday night in the 3-2 loss to the Cubs, but it's unlikely that he would take that approach with the closer.

"He'll want to get back out there," Matheny said.

Some other notes from the meeting with the manager and access to the Cardinals' clubhouse: