It's not official yet, but the mildly surprising St. Louis Cardinals are going to be without the services of highly surprising Kyle McClellan for a spell. Joe Strauss:

Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle McClellan suffered significant swelling Tuesday from a left hip flexor strain and is likely to land on the disabled list prior to his next scheduled start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

McClellan hurt himself in the first inning Monday against the Giants, landing awkwardly during his delivery at least twice. He wound up pitching four innings, but gave up seven runs and his ERA jumped from 3.11 to 3.86.

The Cardinals, who pressed McClellan into starting duties this spring only because of Adam Wainwright's season-ending injury, will obviously miss him while he's out, considering his 6-2 record. And while McClellan's underlying performance didn't quite match his (pre-Monday) ERA, he's almost certainly better than whoever the Cardinals might plug into his slot.

That might be Miguel Batista, who made a spot start earlier this season. Prospect Lance Lynn, who throws 95 miles an hour, has pitched reasonably well in his second go-around with triple-A Memphis, allowing just one home run in 62 innings this year.