page_title: Lance Lynn
section_title: 2011–2013
hierarchical_section_title: Lance Lynn / Professional career / St. Louis Cardinals / 2011–2013
caption_attribution_description: Cardinals at Orioles 8/10/14
context_page_description: Michael Lance Lynn is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees.
  Playing college baseball for the Ole Miss Rebels, Lynn set the school's single-season and career pitching strikeout records. The Cardinals selected him in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft from the University of Mississippi. In 2009, he was named the Cardinals organizational Pitcher of the Year after playing in three levels and totaling a 2.85 earned run average and 124 strikeouts in ​148 ²⁄₃ innings pitched. He made his MLB debut on June 2, 2011, was a member of the Cardinals' World Series championship team that year, and a National League All-Star in 2012.
  On May 27, 2014, Lynn pitched his first MLB career complete game and shutout. He earned his 500th MLB career strikeout three weeks later, and 50th career win April 15, 2015. Through 2015, he was the Cardinals' all-time franchise leader in career strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, with 8.7. After undergoing Tommy John surgery, Lynn missed the entire 2016 season.
context_section_description: The club added Lynn to the 40 man roster and activated him on June 2, 2011.  He made his MLB debut that night at Busch Stadium against the San Francisco Giants.  In ​34 ¹⁄₃ IP in the regular season with the Cardinals, Lynn notched 40 SO while allowing 25 H and 11 BB.  A pulled flank muscle in August prevented him from appearing in a game until a surprise appearance in the postseason.  On October 10, Lynn was awarded the win after throwing exactly one pitch in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the Milwaukee Brewers.  In the World Series, Lynn gave up back-to-back HR in the top of the seventh to Adrián Beltré and Nelson Cruz.  However, he won the World Series with the Cardinals, making a total of 10 appearances during the postseason after appearing in just 18 games during the 2011 regular season.
  After arriving at Cardinals spring training (ST) in February 2012, Lynn announced he would begin wearing the number 31.  When Chris Carpenter went on the disabled list (DL) early in the season, Lynn replaced him in the rotation.  He started strong, winning his first six games with an ERA of .140.  One of his best games came on June 13 against the Chicago White Sox.  He completed ​7 ¹⁄₃ innings, struck out a career-high 12 batters, and gave up only three hits.  That performance lowered his ERA to 2.42.  He also became the second player that season to win 10 games behind R.A. Dickey.
  Lynn finished his first half with a 3.41 ERA and 11–4 record in 17 starts.  Subsequently, he was named to his first All-Star Game.  However, he scuffled with a 5.23 ERA in his next eight starts, and was removed from the rotation.  Joe Kelly replaced him in the rotation.   Through his first 25 starts, he was 13–5 with a 3.93 ERA.  His August ERA ballooned to 6.66 and his second-half ERA overall was 4.32.  Lynn attributed his inconsistency to weight gain and poor conditioning.  He finished the regular season with an 18–7 record and 180 SO, 3.78 ERA in 35 games, 29 starts and 176 IP.  His 9.2 SO/9 placed fourth in franchise history.  He placed second in the NL in wins, seventh in winning percentage, and fourth in SO/9.  Lynn was added back to the rotation in the NLDS against the Washington Nationals after the team shifted Jaime García to the DL due to a rotator cuff injury.  He was the Game 5 starter in the NLCS against the San Francisco Giants, in which the Cardinals held a 3–1 series lead.  However, he gave up four runs in ​3 ²⁄₃ IP as the Cardinals eventually lost the series.
  The right-hander made a conscious effort to change his eating and conditioning habits to reach 200 IP in 2013.   He showed up to ST weighing 239 pounds, about 41 pounds lighter than his last start in the 2012 NLCS.  As a result, his teammates needled him with jokes, such as "Where's your other half?" from Adam Wainwright and "Who's the new guy?" from two others.  He reached his season goal of 200 IP, with ​201 ²⁄₃, and was 15–10 with 198 SO and 3.97 ERA.  His ERA remained steady: 4.00 in the first half, 3.93 in the second of the season.  He improved his ERA in September to 2.12.  His win total was sixth in the NL, strikeouts ninth, and 33 starts placed second.
caption: Lynn pitching for the Cardinals
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