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 —

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Jhonny Peralta had three hits, including his first homer of spring training, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over a Miami Marlins’ split squad 7-1 Tuesday.

Peralta, who entered in 1-for-14 slide, homered on a fifth-inning slider from Bryan Morris for a 5-1 lead. He singled in his first two at-bats.

Marco Gonzales, trying to win the fifth spot in the Cardinals’ rotation, allowed his first run of spring training. He gave up four hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings, striking out three. The Cardinals’ 2014 minor league pitcher of the year threw 41 of his 67 pitches for strikes and also looped an RBI single over first baseman Jeff Baker in a three-run fourth.

“He got into trouble and figured out how to pitch out,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He did a real nice of doing exactly what we would hope.”

Matt Holliday had a bases-loaded, two-run single in the fourth off Jarred Cosart, who allowed four runs, eight hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. Cosart yielded three earned runs in two innings against Minnesota in his previous outing.

“I’ve got to look at some mechanical stuff,” said Cosart, who surrendered four runs on eight hits and three walks. “I threw three really good pitches and then five bad ones. I’ve just got to get a couple things tightened up.”

STARTING TIME

Marlins: Both clubs had their pitchers bat for the first time this spring training. Cosart went 0 for 1 with a sacrifice. “I’m glad I was able to get the bunt down and not embarrass myself,” he said.

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright is to make his exhibition season debut Saturday when St. Louis plays Atlanta. Matheny said if all goes well, Wainwright would start every five days for the remainder of spring training,. That may enable to start the April 5 major league opener at the Chicago Cubs.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Lance Lynn is to throw a simulated game at the Cardinals’ complex on Wednesday. He’s been slowed by a sore hip. Outfielder Jon Jay, working his way back from offseason wrist surgery, is to bat in that game.

MAKING MOVES:

Marlins: Miami optioned pitchers Adam Conley, Justin Nicolino and Matt Ramsey to Triple-A New Orleans before Tuesday’s game.

Cardinals: St. Louis optioned pitcher Tyler Lyons and infielder Greg Garcia to Triple-A Memphis and reassigned catchers Carson Kelly and Breyvic Valera to their minor league camp.

PINCH HIT PREVIEW

Without the benefit of the designated hitter, Miami started Ichiro Suzuki in center field. Marlins manager Mike Redmond has frequently used Ichiro as the DH in spring training, in part to prepare him for pinch hitting during the season. “Basically, DHing is three or four pinch hits, because you’re not in the flow of the game,” Redmond said.

GOING GREEN

St. Louis wore green shirts and caps for Tuesday’s St. Patrick’s Day game.

UP NEXT:

Mat Latos is to make his second start of spring training for Miami when Washington comes to Jupiter on Wednesday. The Cardinals are off Wednesday and plan to start Jaime Garcia on Thursday against New York.

— Associated Press —

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — John Lackey pitched three perfect innings in his spring training debut, outpitching David Price in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.

“There’s definitely some things to work on, but the main goal of throwing fastballs, building arm strength and locating it — that was pretty good today,” Lackey said.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny let the 36-year-old Lackey set his own pace during camp and it has paid off. The right-hander struck out four and needed only 37 pitches.

“We put the plan together based on what he wanted,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “For us to say this is what we think you should do, for a guy who has been around as long as he has, I think is counter-productive.”

In his third outing of the spring, David Price was nearly as efficient as Lackey, throwing four scoreless innings of one hit ball while striking out five and walking one.

That was a lot better than five days ago, and a lot better than 10 days ago,” Price said, referring to his first two spring starts. “It was good to get out there and to be able, not only be efficient but to execute, for the most part when I was out there on the mound.”

Yoenis Cespedes returned to the Tigers lineup after missing a couple games with a quadriceps injury, and showed little sign of rust. He sent a pitch from Lackey to the right field warning track in the second inning and doubled off Carlos Villanueva in the fifth.

Pete Kozma had an RBI single.

STARTING TIME

Cardinals: Adam Wainwright threw a three-inning simulated game on Monday morning and ran some sprints afterward. An abdominal strain has slowed the Cardinals ace thus far, but Wainwright could make his first Grapefruit League start of the season this weekend.

Tigers: Justin Verlander is scheduled to make his third start of the spring on Tuesday. Verlander has yet to allow a run in five innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Center fielder Jon Jay was among the hitters to take hacks against Wainwright in the simulated game. He had two singles off the big righty. Jay has yet to appear in an exhibition game following offseason wrist surgery but that could change by the end of the week.

Tigers: Slugging third baseman Miguel Cabrera took batting practice with the team on the main field prior Monday’s game. It marked the first time Cabrera, who underwent offseason ankle surgery, has taken batting practice on the road this spring. The Tigers have yet to announce a timetable for his first spring game appearance. … Catcher Alex Avila, who has been dealing with back soreness, played in his first game since March 11. Avila stuck out in both plate appearances.

EARLY RETURNS

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny isn’t worried about second baseman Kolton Wong’s slow start to the spring. Wong has only two hits in 18 at-bats. “I don’t look at numbers right now,” Matheny said. “I look at at-bats and I’ve seen him take some really good at-bats.”

SHIFT BUSTER

With Detroit moving third baseman Nick Castellanos to short right field as part of a defensive shift against Matt Adams, the power hitting lefty attempted, unsuccessfully, to bunt the ball to the left side for a hit. After two strikes Adams slashed a line drive to the third base side that went foul, then struck out looking. Afterward, Matheny reiterated his desire to see Adams steal some hits via the bunt in those situations this season.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Marco Gonzales will get his third start of the spring, going against Miami’s Jarred Cosart.

Tigers: Verlander and the Tigers return to Lakeland to face Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals.

— Associated Press —

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Brian Dozier hit his second home run of the spring, a two-run shot off Carlos Martinez in the third inning, and the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals played to a 6-6, nine-inning tie Sunday.

With a strong contingent of Cardinals fans making the drive across the state, Martinez left after 3 1/3 innings with a 5-0 deficit.

Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson, a former first-round pick from the University of Missouri, opened with four scoreless innings. Gibson struck out four and allowed just two hits, back-to-back singles in the third.

Randal Grichuk, who homered against the Twins on Saturday in Jupiter, got the Cardinals on the board with a two-run double off Tim Stauffer in the sixth. The Cardinals rallied to tie the game on Dean Anna’s sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Stauffer struggled for the third straight time this spring. In 2 1/3 innings, he allowed four earned runs on six hits.

BACK TO MINORS

Twins sent 13 players to minor league camp. Those moves included center fielder Byron Buxton, one of the top-ranked prospect in the minors, and right-hander Jose Berrios, ranked by some outlets as their top pitching prospect.

STARTING TIME

Cardinals: Martinez issued a pair of walks after opening his spring with 6 2/3 walk-free innings, including the first two frames Sunday.

“The walks hurt him,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s really the only part that I saw. For the most part he could have been out of there with a whole lot less damage.”

Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson, a former first-round pick from the University of Missouri, opened with four scoreless innings. Gibson struck out four and allowed just two hits, back-to-back singles in the third.

“I’m not going to be mad if I get more swings and misses,” Gibson said. “Then I won’t have to answer the questions about why I don’t get strikeouts. As long as I’m executing down in the zone, the swings and misses will come.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright, yet to make his spring debut due to an abdominal strain, is scheduled to throw a simulated game against Cardinals minor leaguers on Monday at home. The plan is for Wainwright to throw 30 pitches or more.

Twins: Closer Glen Perkins (strained right oblique) came through Saturday’s bullpen session without incident and is scheduled to throw next on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP John Lackey will make his first start of the spring at home against the Detroit Tigers on Monday. Lackey is sticking to the same spring schedule he used last season after an extended World Series run in 2013.

Twins: After Monday’s only scheduled off day of the spring, RHP Phil Hughes is slated to start Tuesday at the Baltimore Orioles. LHP Tommy Milone and RHP Trevor May will throw Monday in minor league games against visiting college teams. Milone will throw around 60 pitches while May will be limited to 45 or so.

— Associated Press —

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Mat Latos allowed two hits over three scoreless innings in his first appearance in a Miami Marlins’ uniform, a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Acquired from Cincinnati in an offseason trade, Latos angered the Reds when he told Fox during spring training that the Reds rushed him back from knee and elbow injuries last season.

“As far as what happened, it’s done and it’s over with,” Latos said. “Turn the page.”

Latos struck out two and walked two, throwing 22 of 39 pitches for strikes.

“I was good enough to make pitches and get outs when I needed to,” he said. “A couple ground ball double plays, those saved me.”

Mike Morse singled in Dee Gordon in the first, tying him for the team high with six RBIs in the spring. Reid Brignac’ hit a three-run triple in the second that fell barely inside the left-field line and just out of reach of a diving Tommy Pham. Center fielder Peter Bourjos tracked down the ball in the corner while Pham remained on the ground. Pham left the game with a quad strain.

STARTING TIME

Cardinals: Zach Petrick allowed four runs, five hits and two walks in two innings. Petrick, likely starting the season at Triple-A Memphis, was making his first spring training start this year and third appearance.

Marlins: Tom Koehler, originally listed to start Saturday against Washington, will instead throw on a back field at the Marlins’ spring complex. Slated to be a member of Miami’s rotation, Koehler has made only one exhibition start.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Now that he’s thrown two batting practice sessions, Adam Wainwright began agility drills Friday. Wainwright sustsined a minor abdominal strain early in camp and has yet to appear in a spring training game. St. Louis has yet to announce a date for Wainwright’s first exhibition start.

Marlins: Adeiny Hechavarria didn’t play but is expected to appear in consecutive games for the third time this spring training this weekend. Hechavarria had been dealing with what the Marlins called a tired shoulder.

DOUBLE TIME

In an effort to give some younger players more game action, the Cardinals and Marlins played an early exhibition on the back fields prior to their Grapefruit League game. Bourjos, who is working on a new swing, played in both games, going a combined 2-for-7. His single in the fifth inning of the main game stopped an 0-for-13 Grapefruit League start. “Overall he’s making good progress, he just needs to see some success,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

SUPER VERSATILE

The Marlins started Ichiro Suzuki in left field, and he threw out Mark Reynolds at the plate. The Marlins signed Suzuki to be their fourth outfielder, and he has started at every outfield position. “The beauty of Ichiro is that he can do all those things; he can play all those positions,” Miami manager Mike Redmond said.

MOVING TIME

Miami reassigned pitchers Brian Ellington and Ryan Reld, catcher Sharif Othman and infielders Viosergy Rosa to minor league camp. They also optioned pitcher Grant Dayton to Triple-A New Orleans.

UP NEXT:

St. Louis hosts Minnesota on Saturday, and the Cardinals give Michael Wacha his second start. Miami plays Washington in Viera, and the Nationals planned to start Gio Gonzalez.

— Associated Press —

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Salvador Perez got three hits and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 10-5 Thursday.

Paulo Orlando hit a two-run triple off Cleveland reliever Bryan Shaw. Orlando, an outfielder from Brazil, also had a single and an RBI forceout.

“Shaw was up with everything and he paid for it,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “When the lights go on, I’ll put my money on Shaw.”

Roberto Perez homered off Royals starter Danny Duffy. Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer off reliever Casey Coleman. Michael Bourn had two hits for Cleveland.

“It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t as bad as it looks,” Duffy said after giving up three runs in three innings.

Bourn was hampered by left hamstring problems last season. He is hitting .538 so far this spring.

“This is my ninth year,” Bourn said. “You look for motivation in these games. I haven’t had to back off anything. I am trying to simplify things and stay on top.”

Indians starter Nick Maronde allowed a run and four hits in three innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: LHP Tim Collins had Tommy John surgery and will miss the season. He will return home and rejoin the team later this month to begin rehab.

Indians: Zach Walters left the game with a right abdominal strain after fouling off a pitch in the fifth inning. The versatile Walters had a rib injury late last season. … OF Ryan Raburn slipped between first and second running out a double in the first inning. He stayed in for one more at-bat but left with discomfort in his left knee. He had knee surgery last September. … Nick Swisher participated in a simulated game and faced Marc Rzepczynski. Swisher (knee surgery) is expected to appear in games in mid-March. … Josh Tomlin threw a bullpen session. He was scratched on Sunday with shoulder fatigue and is scheduled to pitch Saturday against the Dodgers.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Chris Young is scheduled to pitch on Friday. Young, who won the 2014 Comeback Player of the Year Award with Seattle, signed with the Royals last Saturday. RHP Edinson Volquez will start against Oakland.

Indians: The Indians have a pair of split-squad games. LHP T.J. House will start against the Cubs, and RHP Zach McAllister will start against Arizona.

STARTING TIME

Royals: Duffy spent most of last season in the rotation. This spring, he has the luxury of refining his skills.

“My last time (against Cincinnati), they hit line drives at people, so that outing wasn’t as good as it looked,” Duffy said. “I’m results-based, but we are all working on things. I need to put people away.”

Indians: Reigning Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber threw a simulated game. “We wanted to back him off a little,” Francona said. “We wanted him to work on things without worrying about the fans and umpires.” He pitched three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out five.

— Associated Press —

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Mark Reynolds hit his first home run of the spring, connecting off Norris as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-2 Thursday.

Reynolds, who signed a one-year, $2 million free agent contract in the offseason, hit a three-run homer in the third inning.

“It feels good to barrel a ball up and see some results from all the work we’ve been putting in this spring,” said Reynolds, who hit a total of 60 homers for the Orioles in 2011-12. “Obviously it helps the confidence a little bit. I hope this one carries over into the coming weeks and into the season.”

Tony Cruz doubled and singled for St. Louis, making him 5 for 8 in exhibition play.

Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia gave up one run and two hits in four innings.

In a three-way competition to become the Cardinals’ fifth starter, Garcia struck out five.

“We saw sinkers in the dirt, guys are swinging and missing, that’s just different stuff than anybody else has,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He had a real nice slider working today. He threw some strike curveballs. We saw changeups. It was a good outing.”

Norris didn’t fare nearly as well. He didn’t get out of third inning, allowing three runs and four hits with three walks and a hit batter.

“Fastball command obviously is something I need a lot more work on, but that’s something we get out of camp,” said Norris, who threw 28 of his 54 pitches for strikes. “But coming out of there healthy was the No. 1 key for me again.”

Baltimore touched Garcia for a run in the first when Jimmy Paredes doubled home Jayson Nix.

STARTING TIME

Orioles: Norris allowed his second home run of the spring. He surrendered 20 last season and has given up 20 or more in a season three times in his career.

Cardinals: Ace Adam Wainwright threw a bullpen session against live hitters on a back field before the game. He’s recovering from an abdominal strain early in camp and wants to make his exhibition debut soon, but has yet to be cleared for full participation. “I’ve thrown two live BPs now — usually that’s what you do before a game,” he said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Orioles: C Matt Wieters, recovering from elbow ligament replacement surgery, is scheduled to make his 2015 catching debut on Tuesday. He’s hitless in 20 at-bats as a DH.

Cardinals: Matheny said CF Jon Jay, who underwent offseason wrist surgery, is progressing but remains a few days away from making his first Grapefruit League appearance. … RHP Lance Lynn is scheduled to throw a bullpen session in the coming days and won’t make his second spring start until Wednesday at the earliest. Lynn left his first outing with hip soreness.

LACKEY LOOMING

John Lackey will make his spring debut on Monday against Detroit. Lackey is proceeding under a relaxed spring program.

KNUCKLING UNDER

Despite reassigning pitcher Eddie Gamboa to Triple-A, manager Buck Showalter expects the knuckleball pitcher to eventually make an impact. Showalter said Gamboa’s knuckler is already better than 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner R. A. Dickey’s was at this point in his development.

UP NEXT

Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez had a rough spring debut, then fared a bit better in his next start. He pitches against Toronto.

Cardinals: Projected minor leaguer Zack Petrick will start on Saturday against Miami’s Mat Latos, who will be making his spring debut.

— Associated Press —

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — After a handful of spring training games, the St. Louis Cardinals like what they see at the top of their batting order.

Matt Carpenter, Jason Heyward and Matt Holliday all produced hits Tuesday in a 7-6 loss to the Houston Astros.

Heyward, the right fielder acquired in a trade from Atlanta, “fits in that second spot pretty well,” manager Mike Matheny said,

Heyward batted first and fifth last season with the Braves. His best season came in 2012 when he hit 27 home runs, mostly from the No. 3 spot.

According to Matheny, Heyward hitting second “gives us two three-hole hitters; one just gets up there before the other one.”

Carpenter singled off starter Brett Oberholtzer and scored a run. Heyward drove in a run with a third-inning single, and Holliday doubled in the fifth.

Oberholtzer gave up two runs in three innings, and criticized himself for getting “too much of the plate” on a leadoff double by Tony Cruz.

“I threw strikes, which is what you want to do in spring training, but I think I have to do a better job of finishing guys off, or at least throwing some balls to change the thought processes of them,” he said.

Cardinal starter Carlos Martinez struck out three in 2 2/3 innings, giving up a first-inning run on doubles by Luis Valbuena and Jon Singelton.

Rookie second baseman Jacob Wilson had three hits for the Cardinals including an eighth-inning home run off Josh Fields.

Jed Lowrie hit two doubles for the Astros and backup catcher Max Stassi homered off Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Jon Jay, recovering from wrist surgery, is taking batting practice and might get into a game by the end of this week or early next week, according to Matheny.

Astros: Reliever Joe Neshek will miss at least a week after an X-ray Tuesday revealed the beginnings of a stress fracture in his right foot.

STARTING TIME

Cardinals: Martinez said he felt more comfortable with his sinker as the game progressed. He had no walks.

THREE LONG YEARS

Jeff Bagwell, Houston’s home run leader, showed up in camp Tuesday and plans to help out the Astros this week. “I did have success, but I had some failures, too,” Bagwell said. “I struck out 1,500 (actually 1,558) times. That’s three years of striking out, so I understand it’s difficult.”

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Marco Gonzalez is to get his second start of the spring against the Atlanta Braves.

Astros: Dallas Keuchel will pitch and Jonathan Villar will play center field in a “B” game against the Atlanta Braves.

— Associated Press —

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Right-hander Lance Lynn left the St. Louis Cardinals’ spring training game in the second inning Sunday with a left hip flexor strain, and six relievers combined to allow only one run in a 5-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Lynn said the injury wasn’t serious, but he’ll undergo further tests Monday.

Making his first start of spring training, Lynn retired the side in order in the first inning. In the second he gave up back-to-back walks, and then departed after the next batter reached on an error.

“Second inning, coming back out, I just couldn’t get loose,” Lynn said. “There was some tightness. … It just stayed that way and wouldn’t get any better.”

Lynn, a 15-game winner last year, said he expects to throw his next bullpen session Tuesday as scheduled. Manager Mike Matheny smiled when told of Lynn’s remark.

“I think our guys need to slow down on some of their comments and make sure they’re going through the proper channels,” Matheny said. “But I’m glad to hear he’s excited about getting back out there. It’s good to hear he’s not that concerned.”

The Cardinals’ Tommy Pham homered on his 27th birthday, and teammate Randal Grichuk hit his second home run in as many days.

Miami’s Jarred Cosart, making his first start of spring training, struck out two in two hitless innings. Marlins newcomer Michael Morse hit his first home run.

Marlins right fielder Ichiro Suzuki had an RBI groundout and threw out a runner trying to go from first to third. Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 2 and is batting .167.

Cardinals right fielder Jason Heyward sprawled across the bullpen mound to make a diving catch of a foul ball. Matheny was relieved Heyward avoided injury.

“He’s got one gear, and it’s full out,” Matheny said. “It’s a pleasure to watch him do that. But I see that diving into the mound, and I’m not breathing for a couple of seconds.”

The game drew a sellout crowd of 7,438.

EASING INTO IT

Marlins right-hander Mat Latos was scratched from his scheduled start Monday and instead will pitch a simulated game. The Marlins want to monitor him carefully after he endured an injury-plagued 2014 season with the Reds.

“We want to make sure he eases into it,” manager Mike Redmond said. “It’s just precautionary. We’re hoping everything feels good, and then the next step will be a regular game.”

A year ago Latos underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee during spring training. He later developed more knee problems and elbow issues, limiting him to 16 starts.

Latos has thrown his bullpen sessions as scheduled in spring training.

STARTING TIME

Cardinals right-hander John Lackey, who has yet to make his spring training debut, threw against minor leaguers on a back field and is scheduled to pitch in a game in the coming week.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, recovering from a strained abdominal muscle, threw to hitters on a back field and he hopes to receive clearance soon to make his first spring training start.

Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria sat out his third game in a row because of a sore throwing shoulder. Redmond said the injury isn’t serious, and Hechavarria is expected to rejoin the lineup Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Marlins: Right-hander David Phelps will start Monday at the Mets in place of Latos. Phelps, acquired from the Yankees in an offseason trade, threw two scoreless innings in his first spring training outing and will likely begin the season in the bullpen.

Cardinals: Expect another standing room-only crowd Monday when they play host to the Boston Red Sox.

— Associated Press —