Righthander Luke Weaver has gone from rotation member to sixth starter to mop-up man with the Cardinals lately and his four-run allowance in just 2/3 innings in the ninth inning on Tuesday was a jolt to him, he admitted.

He was pitching for the first time in nine days and he said, “I remember going home and being kind of speechless. You see that from time to time. You’re trying as hard as you can and things are not falling your way. The next you know, it spirals out of control. That’s just the game of baseball, right there.

“You’ve got to shake it off and continue to do what you know you can do. Try to get out there another time and flush it.”

Weaver isn’t apt to be back in the rotation any more this season.

“As a competitor and as a guy who wants to be a part of something big — and I am a part of something big still — we have so much good pitching and when you’re not up to your capability, you try to find other ways to help,” Weaver said.

Manager Mike Shildt said Weaver (7-12) had shown a “first-class” attitude about having his role reduced.

Weaver smiled and said, “This game will eat you alive if you don’t have it after the failures, especially at this level.