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ST. LOUIS -- The Boston Red Sox reacquired reliever Mike Myers from St. Louis on Tuesday, bringing back the left-handed specialist who helped them in last year's playoffs.
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The Cardinals received two minor leaguers, outfielder Carlos de la Cruz and left-handed pitcher Kevin Ool. The Red Sox designated for assignment righty reliever Anastacio Martinez to make room on their 40-man roster for Myers.
"We talk so much about having an effective pitcher in when the game's on the line," Boston manager Terry Francona said after the Red Sox's 7-2 win over the New York Yankees. "For me, having that left-handed matchup guy really, I think, swings the percentages in our favor."
The Red Sox obtained Myers, who has an unorthodox sidearm motion, from Seattle on Aug. 6 but didn't re-sign him after they won the World Series. He has held lefties to a .212 batting average during his career and got two big strikeouts in the playoffs.
In Game 2 of the AL Division Series against the Angels, Boston led 4-3 but Anaheim had a runner on first with no outs in the bottom of the eighth. Myers faced one batter, striking out Garret Anderson, and Boston won 8-3 with four runs in the ninth.
In Game 5 of the ALCS, Myers again struck out the only batter he faced. With the Yankees up 3-1 in the series and the game tied 4-all in the 11th, he fanned leadoff hitter Hideki Matsui. Boston won 5-4 in 14 innings.
"Mike's also a guy that can go two innings," Francona said, "so it's not a drain on your staff as much as a normal situational lefty is."
He said he probably won't keep 12 pitchers, jeopardizing Byung-Hyun Kim's bid to stay with the team. He's due to make $6 million this year and Boston would like to unload part of that salary.
The 35-year-old Myers pitched in five AL playoff games but was not Boston's roster for the World Series. The Red Sox swept St. Louis in four games for their first championship in 86 years.
He signed a one-year, $600,000 deal with the Cardinals in December. In nine spring training appearances, he had a 2.38 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. He was competing for a spot in the St. Louis bullpen with lefties Bill Pulsipher and Randy Flores. Ray King is expected to be the team's left-handed setup man.
Myers was 1-0 with a 4.20 ERA in 25 regular-season appearances last year for the Red Sox. He was 5-1 with a 4.64 ERA overall and made 75 relief appearances, sixth most in the AL. He has made more appearances, 671, than any other pitcher in the major leagues since 1996, his first full season.
He also has pitched for Florida, Detroit, Milwaukee, Colorado and Arizona and is 17-21 with 14 saves and a 4.40 ERA in his career.
The Cardinals get de la Cruz, 21, who played for Class-A Lowell last season, hitting .274 with one homer and 15 stolen bases in 237 at bats.
Ool, 24, played in Class-A with Lowell in 2003 and Augusta and Sarasota last year. He is 6-3 with two saves and a 3.71 ERA in 54 relief appearances with those teams.
