JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright gave up four runs, including a solo homer by Giancarlo Stanton, in 3 2/3 innings Thursday before a rain delay ended his outing in a 5-3 loss to the Miami Marlins.

Wainwright gave up six hits in his second spring start and struggled with his fastball.

After rain held up play for 55 minutes, Wainwright went to the indoor batting cages for more work. Pitching coach Derek Lilliquist noticed a flaw in Wainwright’s mechanics.

“It’s the best I felt all spring,” said Wainwright, whose spring progression was slowed by an early abdominal strain. “I know it’s not against hitters, but it translates for me.”

Wainwright threw 65 pitches on the field and an estimated 25 more in the cage.

“I went from being kind of frustrated with the way I pitched and then I left that cage thinking I’m ready for next time,” Wainwright said.

Jason Heyward hit his first home run with St. Louis.

Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez allowed two runs and four hits in three innings.

Wainwright walked one batter and hit another as part of a two-run third inning. Christian Yelich singled home Alvarez in the fourth on the last pitch Wainwright threw.

STARTING TIME

Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny has yet to officially announce Wainwright as the opening day starter, but everything is falling into place for that to happen.

“I think the first day we were talking about how to make it work so that Adam could throw then, but if we have any kind of hiccup we’ve got other guys that, because of some of the extra rest with the off days, we’d be covered,” Matheny said.

Marlins: Miami scratched Jarred Cosart from Friday’s scheduled start because of a blister on his middle finger. Instead, the Marlins will give the ball to Brad Hand, who will likely begin the season in Miami’s bullpen.

“It’s nice to have that strength and depth guys that can not only pitch out of the bullpen but also be starters for us,” manager Mike Redmond said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Matt Carpenter, removed from Wednesday’s game after being hit in the quadriceps by a pitch from Max Scherzer, returned to the lineup and went 1 for 2.

SCRUBBED CLEAN

No member of the Marlins starting lineup returned following the rain delay. St. Louis kept three players: Randal Grichuk, Dean Anna and Pete Kozma.

HEYWARD POP

Matheny said he wasn’t worried that Heyward didn’t have an extra-base hit prior to his first-inning homer, saying he’d seen enough line drives and balls hit barely foul to believe those hits are coming.

“Hopefully he’s not going to start trying to do too much because of all the talk, but I’m not concerned about it at all,” Matheny said.

KOZ AND EFFECT

Light-hitting Cardinals utility infielder Pete Kozma led all National League batters this spring going into the game, then went 1 for 2 to raise his average to .455.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Split-squad games on Friday. John Lackey will face Matt Harvey and the Mets at Roger Dean Stadium while the Carlos Martinez-led squad will head to Viera to face Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals.

Miami expects to face Dallas Keuchel when it travels to play Houston.

— Associated Press —

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Max Scherzer looked amply ready to start on opening day for Washington, striking out nine in six shutout innings during the Nationals’ 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

Nationals manager Matt Williams recently announced that the newly acquired Scherzer would make his first career start in an opener. Washington begins at home against the New York Mets on April 6.

Making his fifth start of the spring, the former AL Cy Young Award winner allowed only three hits. He didn’t walk anyone and threw 59 of 82 pitches for strikes.

“That was a result of me executing pitches today,” Scherzer said. “I felt like I did a good job of generating swings and misses with all my pitches, but more importantly I didn’t walk anybody. I was pounding the zone.”

“I think I only fell behind two hitters, too, so that’s a more telling number than anything,” he said.

Scherzer also hit Matt Carpenter with a pitch. The Cardinals said he had a bruise on his right quadriceps.

“He wasn’t happy about it, but it was one of those things that it hit him kind of square on the quad and that can potentially lead to something else, so why mess with it?” manager Mike Matheny said.

Matheny also removed Kolten Wong as a precaution after the second baseman was hit by a pitch leading off the eighth.

Cardinals starter Michael Wacha also enjoyed a strong outing, giving up four hits in 5 2/3 innings and striking out four.

Wacha retired 13 of 14 batters at one stretch, a string only interrupted by his first walk this spring.

Ty Kelly hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

STARTING TIME

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg threw a bullpen on Tuesday and is ready to appear in a Grapefruit League game, manager Matt Williams said. Strasburg rolled an ankle in the weight room, causing him to miss what would have been his third scheduled spring start.

“We’ll just slate him in later on at the end of the week,” Williams said.

Cardinals: Matheny said John Lackey will start in Friday’s split-squad game at Roger Dean Stadium against the Mets, while Carlos Martinez will head to Viera to face the Nationals.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: Jayson Werth played only in the field in a minor league game on Wednesday. Afterward, he was scheduled to get more aggressive with his batting practice. Werth underwent offseason shoulder surgery and has yet to appear in an exhibition game.

“I’m encouraged by him,” Williams said. “There’s no issue with throwing, so that’s a good sign.”

Closer Drew Storen appeared in a minor league game on Wednesday. He underwent surgery to repair a broken non-throwing hand earlier this spring. He is expected to be ready for the start of the season.

Cardinals: Tommy Pham, whose candidacy for the final outfield spot is running out of time, did some running before the game but still isn’t ready to play because of a quad injury.

“I don’t think he’s that far away,” Matheny said.

MIDSEASON FORM

The Cardinals’ lineup looked much the same as it is expected to look once the season begins, which means Jon Jay hitting seventh and Wong batting eighth. To Matheny, that’s a formidable look.

“That’s not a whole lot of time for the opposing team to breathe,” Matheny said. “Either one of those guys could really hurt you at any time.”

UP NEXT

Nationals: Gio Gonzalez makes his fourth spring start, facing the Nationals.

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright will make his second spring start when St. Louis is at home against Henderson Alvarez and Miami.

— Associated Press —