Jaime Garcia, who will start the Cardinals’ second regular-season game (Milwaukee’s home opener), pitched five scoreless innings before giving up a homer to Danny Espinosa in a 2-1 loss to the Washington Nationals. It was Garcia’s longest outing of the spring as the lefty went six innings, while allowing just five hits. Garcia has not walked a batter since March 17.
For many of the Cardinals on the opening day roster, there will be a lot of travel this next week. After the game against the Nats, the team flew to Springfield for their final exhibition game on Monday at 6:10 p.m. CT. The matchup will feature several members of St. Louis’ roster against the organization’s Double-A affiliate. Pitching prospect Trevor Rosenthal, who will begin his season at Double-A Springfield, will start for the major league Cards. Most of big league relievers will be available to pitch, and Matt Holliday, David Freese and Jon Jay made the trip up north.
After the game, it’s back to Florida, where the Cardinals get the season started against the Marlins in their new ballpark. Using Thursday to travel, the Cardinals then head to Milwaukee for their season opener on Friday.
