St. Louis ? Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen likely will miss the rest of the season because of a bad left hip, St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan said Saturday.

“I don’t expect that Izzy’s going to pitch anymore,” Duncan said after a 6-1 victory over San Francisco. “I think it’s just determining what to do.”

Isringhausen has not pitched since Sept. 6, when he blew his career-high 10th save chance in 43 tries.

Isringhausen had a discouraging bullpen session on Friday in his first attempt at throwing since a cortisone shot Monday, and said his hip still hindered him. He said he planned to meet with Duncan, general manager Walt Jocketty and manager Tony La Russa to decide the next step.

The right-hander had hip surgery in October 2004 after posting a career-best 47 saves for the NL champions, and probably will need another operation. He’s signed for next year and the Cardinals have an option for 2008.

“We haven’t had a big sitdown,” Duncan said. “We’ve talked amongst ourselves about it.”

Isringhausen, 4-8 with a 3.55 earned-run average in 59 games, was unavailable for comment. Trainer Barry Weinberg said Isringhausen left Busch Stadium before the end of Saturday’s game.

Minus the 34-year-old Isringhausen, La Russa will go with a combination of Braden Looper, formerly a closer for the Marlins and Mets, and rookie Adam Wainwright.

Looper had 28 saves last year for New York and signed with the Cardinals as a setup man, and as late-inning insurance.