JUPITER, Fla. — Before the St. Louis Cardinals’ 9-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, pitcher Adam Wainwright felt he was ready for the start of the season.
After allowing 4 runs
2
— 3 earned — in 4 /3 innings, Wainwright welcomed an upcoming outing against Cardinals minor leaguers as a final tune-up for the regular season.
“I was not good, that’s for sure,” Wainwright said. “That’s the good thing about spring training, I have four days to go out and work on some stuff and get back and be ready for my next turn.”
Fighting an out-of-sync delivery that caused him to leave the ball up much of the afternoon, Wainwright allowed his first earned runs of the spring in the third. Jhonny Peralta broke the scoreless tie with a single to right, driving in Austin Jackson. Two batters later Brennan Boesch and Jackson scored on Andy Dirks’ single to center.
Coming off of ligament replacement surgery that forced him to miss all of 2011, Wainwright had pitched 16 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run.
St. Louis Manager Mike Matheny said he wasn’t surprised Wainwright finally plodded through a tough outing.
“What wouldn’t be expected is all the outings we’ve seen up to this point — that he competes and thinks his way through things when he doesn’t have his best stuff. That’s pitching,” Matheny said.
Wainwright attributed the poor outing more to the extended layoff following the surgery, adding that his surgically repaired arm felt fine.
“I don’t know if it’s good for anything other than it refocuses me,” Wainwright said. “It shows me that I’ve got more work to do.”
Matheny said Wainwright won’t accompany the team when they travel to Springfield for an exhibition against their Class AA club on Monday. Instead, Wainwright will throw in Jupiter, either in a minor league spring training game or in a simulation against live batters.
Detroit starter Drew Smyly (Arkansas Razorbacks) also lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs against a St. Louis lineup that could be the one Matheny uses on opening day.
In a three-way battle to be the Tigers’ fifth starting pitcher, Smyly, a Tigers’ secondround selection in the 2010 draft, said afterward that the outing proved he was ready should he be chosen to begin the season in the majors.
“When you are facing that lineup three times in one game and you are able to have success, that definitely boosts your confidence,” Smyly said.
PADRES 13, WHITE SOX (SS) 2
Yonder Alonso, Chase Headley and Andy Parrino homered to lead San Diego to a victory over Chicago in Glendale, Ariz. Headley hit a two-run shot for his third home run of the spring. He also had a two-run double. Parrino’s two-run shot was his fourth home run, and Alonso’s shot was his first of the spring.
CUBS 2, INDIANS 0 Jeff Samardzija rebounded from a subpar effort in his previous start to give up three hits in six shutout innings and Chicago held on for a victory over Cleveland at HoHoKam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz. The right-hander had given up seven runs on 10 hits in his last start against Colorado on March 23.
REDS 5, ANGELS 4 Dan Haren and Bronson Arroyo made solid starts, and Ryan Ludwick’s two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Cincinnati a victory over Los Angeles in Goodyear, Ariz. Haren threw 90 pitches in 5 2/3 innings for the Angels, allowing two runs and nine hits. He struck out two. Arroyo worked six innings, his longest performance of the spring. He allowed two runs and four hits, including Vernon Wells’ third home run.
BREWERS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 1 Zack Greinke scattered five hits over seven innings, doubled and drove in a run to help Milwaukee beat Arizona in Phoenix. Jonathan Lucroy, who signed a five-year contract on Tuesday, added three hits including a double and his second spring home run and also drove in three runs for Milwaukee.
YANKEES 5, BRAVES 5 Jason Heyward hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning and Brandon Beachy pitched a spring-high six innings as Atlanta and New York tied in 10 innings in Kissimmee, Fla. Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda had his longest outing, allowing two runs in seven innings. He struck out six. Eric Chavez had three hits with a double and three RBI for New York, boosting his average to .235.
TWINS 11, PHILLIES 7 Justin Morneau continued his recent resurgence at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a two-run home run in Minnesota’s victory over Philadelphia in Fort Myers, Fla. Morneau has spent time at designated hitter the last week, trying to recapture his swing. The former American League MVP is 7 for 14 his last four games with a double and three home runs after a slow spring start.
ASTROS 6, MARLINS 3 Lucas Harrell gave up one unearned run in five innings for Houston in a victory over Miami in Kissimmee, Fla. Making a late bid for a spot in the Astros’ rotation, Harrell scattered three hits and walked none in his first start of the spring. Marlins starter Carlos Zambrano walked five in four innings.
BLUE JAYS 9, ORIOLES 3 Toronto tagged Dana Eveland, then roughed up Alfredo Simon in beating Baltimore in Dunedin, Fla. Eveland allowed 3 runs and 6 hits in 4 innings. Simon, pitching for the first time in 10 days since leaving a game with a pulled groin, gave up three runs on two hits in the fifth, one scoring on a wild pitch. He yielded three more runs in the fourth on four hits, including Chris Woodward’s double.
NATIONALS 3, METS 2Jordan Zimmermann pitched six shutout innings, Jayson Werth hit his fourth home run of the spring and Washington beat New York in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Werth led off the fourth inning with a shot over the left-field wall to help back Zimmermann’s best start of the spring. The right-hander allowed two hits, struck out two and didn’t walk a batter.
GIANTS 4, DODGERS 1 Brandon Crawford and Nate Schierholtz hit home runs to help the San Francisco Giants. Crawford hit a home run off Nathan Eovaldi in the second inning. Schierholtz belted a two-run home run to left in the eighth. Yusmeiro Petit allowed four hits in five scoreless innings for San Francisco. The right-hander struck out four and walked one. Eovaldi gave up 2 runs and 3 hits in 5 innings. He struck out none and walked two. James Loney hit an RBI double in the sixth inning for Los Angeles.
Spring Training glance
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Toronto 9, Baltimore 3 St. Louis 9, Detroit 5 Minnesota 11, Philadelphia 7 Atlanta 5, NY Yankees 5, tie, 10 innings Houston 6, Miami 3 Washington 3, NY Mets 2 Chicago Cubs 2, Cleveland 0 Cincinnati 5, LA Angels 4 Milwaukee 7, Arizona 1 San Francisco 4, LA Dodgers 1 San Diego 13, Chicago White Sox (ss) 2 Colorado 8, Chicago White Sox (ss) 5 Tampa Bay 6, Pittsburgh 4 Texas vs. Kansas City, (n)
Sports, Pages 17 on 03/29/2012