Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia, a virus coiling in his stomach, did not sleep well the two previous days, but he had dreamed of making his return to the playoffs all summer.
Illness was not going to keep him from what injuries had almost taken away.
A start many years of rehab in the making came undone in a single inning Saturday as the Chicago Cubs seized on a series of errors by Garcia, both statistical and mental, for a five-run romp. The Cardinals tossed and turned their way through the second inning, and not one of the runs was earned.