Cooney preparing to make big-league debut against Phillies, his boyhood team

ST. LOUIS -- A wild week for Tim Cooney will finally reach its pinnacle Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

The left-hander knew he'd be in the mix to fill in for Adam Wainwright when the Cardinals' ace went down with a season-ending Achilles injury Saturday night. But Cooney wasn't really focused on getting called up until he learned Monday he'd be skipping his start that day at Triple A Memphis, and a day later he got called up.

"I guess you could say it's a dream come true," says Cooney, who arrived in St. Louis on Wednesday. "It's just kind of crazy. I think I'm still processing it right now. I don't think it's hit me yet, but it's really cool. I'm really happy to be here."

His family and a few friends from college will be on hand for his first pitch, scheduled for 12:45 p.m. on FOX Sports Midwest. The former third-round draft pick in 2012 doesn't really know how he'll feel when he steps on the mound, but he's certainly looking forward to the opportunity.

Making Cooney's debut even more special will be his opponent, the same Philadelphia Phillies he supported growing up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. The 24-year-old still remembers skipping school with "80 to 85 percent" of his high school classmates to make the approximately 30-mile trip to Philadelphia for the World Series parade in 2008.

"There aren't a ton of guys that are still around from when I watched," Cooney says. "I think it'll just be a fun little challenge, but like I said, I'm just going to try to treat it like any other game and just pitch my game and go from there."

Two veterans from that championship team, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, still anchor a lineup with five left-handed hitters in the first six, at least for Wednesday's game. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny says that played into the decision to call up Cooney, who impressed the Cardinals last season and especially during spring training, when he gave up one earned run in eight innings.

Yadier Molina will lead the way, and Cooney doesn't expect to have much reason to question his catcher when it comes to deciding how to use his variety of pitches. Matheny says the key will be keeping things simple and not putting any additional pressure on the former Wake Forest ace.

Watch the Cardinals Live pregame and postgame shows before and after every St. Louis Cardinals game on FOX Sports Midwest.

"We'll throw you some suggestions," Matheny says. "If we're asking you to make a pitch that you can't make in a certain situation, then you show us. You tell us and you shake your head and that's fine, but we're not going to let you do anything stupid."

Martinez matures

It wasn't long ago that Wednesday starter Carlos Martinez made his own major league debut in May 2013, but Matheny says the 23-year-old this season looks like an entirely different pitcher.

Martinez is no longer relying only on his fastball when things aren't going well, and he's thrived with the addition of an excellent changeup, along with an improved slider and curveball. Martinez leads all Cardinals starters with a 1.35 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 20 innings, as well as a .159 opponent batting average.

"He has multiple pitches that he feels comfortable going to in different counts and that's a game-changer," Matheny says. "If you can keep hitters' timing off, that's the whole idea. Hitting's timing and pitching's breaking up hitters' timing."

You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.