ATLANTA – The St. Louis Cardinals were desperate for a starting pitcher. The Detroit Tigers had a surplus. So last year’s World Series opponents worked out a deal.

The Tigers traded lefty Mike Maroth to the struggling Cardinals on Friday, just hours before Kenny Rogers made his first start of the season for Detroit.

The trade came with St. Louis struggling at 32-37 and the Tigers tied for the AL Central lead. The Tigers will receive a player to be named for Maroth, who had an arm operation last year.

Maroth knew a deal was imminent with Rogers rejoining the rotation in Atlanta after recovering from a blood clot in his left shoulder.

“There’s only so many spots,” Maroth said. “This team is stacked with pitchers, which is a great situation to be in from an organizational standpoint.”

The 29-year-old Maroth was 5-2 with a 5.06 ERA in 13 starts. While those numbers may not seem impressive, they should be a boost to St. Louis’ battered rotation.

Giambi-Mitchell meeting not until July at earliest

NEW YORK – Jason Giambi won’t meet with baseball steroids investigator George Mitchell until July at the earliest.

In announcing Giambi’s agreement to cooperate with the probe Thursday, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Mitchell assured him “Giambi’s interview will be scheduled promptly.” But the busy calendars of the various lawyers who will attend the session make setting the date a complicated task.

Because of that, the meeting won’t be take place in June, a person involved in the process said Friday. Giambi, bowing to Selig’s pressure, will become the first active player known to speak with Mitchell or his staff.

Selig threatened to discipline Giambi for comments that seemed to be an admission of steroids use and said he will take Giambi’s cooperation with Mitchell into account.

Tejada goes on 15-day DL

PHOENIX – Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a broken left wrist, ending his streak of consecutive games played at 1,152, the fifth-longest in big league history.

“I think this is better for me and for the team to have somebody in there who can help the team,” Tejada said before the Orioles played at Arizona on Friday night.

“Right now, I can’t help the team.”

The Orioles recalled outfielder Jon Knott from Triple-A Norfolk to take Tejada’s spot. Knott was expected to join the Orioles in time for Friday’s game.

“I’m really proud of myself to be playing so many games in a row,” Tejada said. “I don’t want to end it like this. What can I say? There’s nothing that I can do.

Tejada, who is hitting .306 with seven homers and 41 RBIs in 72 games, fell 1,480 games short of former Oriole Cal Ripken’s record streak of 2,632, which ended in 1998.

“It makes you realize how special Cal Ripken was, and how no one will ever even come close to touching that,” interim manager Dave Trembley said.

Tejada was hit on the wrist by a pitch from San Diego’s Doug Brocail on Wednesday night. In what Trembley called a show of respect, he put Tejada in lineup Thursday at San Diego just long enough to extend his streak. Trembley lifted Tejada for a pinch runner after he reached on a fielder’