Cards hammered by Cards in pre-season finale

The AA Springfield Cardinals jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, then added 3 runs in the 6th inning, 2 more in the 7th, and 1 more in the 8th to blast the parent St. Louis Cardinals 10-3 Saturday afternoon at Hammons Field in Springfield.

It was the final pre-season tune-up for St. Louis before the team heads home to get ready for Monday’s National League opener against the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium.

In all, Springfield belted out 20 hits. Jose Martinez led the way with 3 hits and 3 runs batted in. Jon Jay and Allen Craig joined the hit parade with 3 apiece.

St. Louis starter Brad Thompson took the loss, allowing 4 earned runs on 10 hits in 4 innings. The Cards end Spring Training with a record of 17-11-2.

Monday’s Cards-Rockies match-up at Busch gets underway at Busch. Adam Wainwright goes to the mound for the Redbirds against Colorado’s Jeff Francis. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:15.