Adam Wainwright will make his Grapefruit League debut on Saturday. He can then pitch on a normal rotation of every fifth day to more times this spring to be lined up when the Cardinals open the regular season against the Cubs on April 5. Since Wainwright has been throwing simulated games in the 50 pitch range, his first spring start should last into the fourth or fifth inning when he faces the Atlanta Braves. The goal would be to get Wainwright up to that 80-90 pitch mark by the end of spring training.
John Lackey made his spring debut on Monday and Lance Lynn is expected to get back into the rotation soon after a hip strain. As the club enters the final half of spring training, the starting rotation is taking shape.
In Tuesday’s 7-1 win over the Marlins, Marco Gonzales gave up his first run of the spring in his third start today. He went 4.2 innings, allowing four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.