NEW YORK -- Eleven months and a day will have passed between Jaime Garcia's final outing in 2014 and his first this season, which is why the simple act of taking the mound in Thursday's series finale against the Mets will mark a notable accomplishment for the lefty.
What the Cardinals need, however, is for him to prove he's able to stay on it.
"Just the fact that I'm here and able to go out there and be on a Major League mound, that's a lot for me," said Garcia, whose 2014 season ended when he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in July.