The St. Louis Cardinals optioned pitchers Mitchell Boggs, Charlie Manning, Matt Scherer and outfielder Brian Barton following today’s game. Re-assigned to minor league camp were pitchers Clayton Mortensen, Adam Ottavino, Jess Todd and infielder Allen Craig.
Albert Pujols hit his first home run of the spring in the 7th inning. The Cardinals scored four in the first inning on a bases-clearing double from hot-hitting Khalil Greene who is now hitting over .440 this spring. Skip Schumaker singled and scored later doubled in the top in the fourth, but the Cardinals lost 7-6.
Todd Wellemeyer gave up four runs on six hits including a walk and two home runs. Motte who was cut from camp struck out the side in the 8th.
Cardinals get strong pitching over the weekend
Right handed starter Kyle Lohse, allowed five hits and one run in five innings. He also struck out five against his former team Philadelphia, but right hander Jess Todd allowed a run in the 9th inning for a 2-1 loss.
Right-hander Adam Ottavino and left-hander Trever Miller each threw a scoreless inning. Right-hander Jess Todd allowed a run in the ninth to take the loss. The bats were quiet once again for the Cardinals, which managed just six hits. Khalil Greene went 2-for-3 with a double. Albert Pujols doubled. Skip Schumaker, Rick Ankiel and Brendan Ryan also singled. Ryan’s hit drove in the club’s lone run.
On Saturday, The Cards took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on an RBI single by Albert Pujols, his seventh RBI of the spring as the Cardinals won on Saturday 2-1 over Atlanta. Second baseman Skip Schumaker went 2-for-3 and scored a run from his leadoff spot.
Adam Wainwright, went his longest outing of the year tossing five complete innings allowing just one run on six hits with four strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year. Ryan Franklin tossed two shutout innings of relief, allowing only one hit and striking out two.
Teahen leads Royals charge over White Sox
Mark Teahen was back in Royals’ camp following Canada’s quick exit from the World Baseball Classic and got right back into the swing of things homering in the Royals 9-3 win over the White Sox.
Earlier in the week manager Trey Hillman was preaching patience at the plate and ever since then, the Royals have been knocking the ball around the park. After the Royals loaded the bases in the fourth, Ross Gload hit a shot off the pitcher’s foot that caromed into short right field for a two-run double. Mark Teahen sent a high shot over the right-field bullpen for a two-run homer, his first. Chris Lubanski also got his first, a three-run shot that gave him a .500 (7-for-14) average. Coco Crisp had a perfect day with two walks and a single, raising his on-base percentage to .545. Mike Jacobs and Alex Gordon each had two hits.
Horacio Ramirez battling for a spot in the Royals rotation continues to show some little improvement. He gave up six hits and three runs as he became the first pitcher to go five innings. In his four games, Ramirez has a 5.25 ERA.
Kyle Davies is almost a lock for the rotation continued to pitch well tossing pitched a scoreless sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth.
Royals’ great George Brett will run the team today while manager Trey Hillman joins general manager Dayton Moore who is attending his mother’s funeral in Houston, Texas
Carpenter, Mather leads Cards to win
Chris Carpenter threw four scoreless innings and Joe Mather hit a walk off home run to continue his hot hitting as the Cardinals beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 in Jupiter. Carpenter has yet to allow a run this spring.
That’s a great sign for Cardinal fans that Carpenter is back. He gave up just two hits and a couple walks in four scoreless innings. Josh Kinney in the running for the closer’s job shut the door in the ninth with the game tied 2-2.
Kinney was helped out by Joe Mather who hit his first home run of the spring of Marcus McBeth with one on to win the game. The Cardinals were down 2-0, but tied the game in the 8th when second basemen Joe Thurston drove in a run with a double and then scored on a Rick Ankiel sacrifice fly.
Royals’ strong bats lead to win over Seattle
Gil Meche threw 55 pitches and his lower back held up. His outing could have looked much worse than what it turned out to be as he makes it through 2.1 innings giving up two runs. The Royals broke out with a six run 4th inning.
Billy Butler belted a three-run homer, his second of the spring, in that inning. Mike Jacobs’ single gave him his seventh RBI. Mitch Maier got an inside-the-park homer as his high drive hit the wall and rolled away from the outfielders. The two RBIs gave Maier a club-high nine.
Manager Trey Hillman talks about Meche’s outing. Hillman decided to send Meche out for the third inning after he cruised through the first and wiggled out of a bases loaded jam in the second with no outs only allowing one run.
Hillman is happy with Jacobs’ approach for being a better two strike hitter and what can you say about Mitch Maier. I started following this guy at AAA Omaha and when he got called up at the end of last year where he hit .286 in 34 games. This guy is a spark plug and I hope Hillman can find a spot for him on the roster.
Cardinals rally to beat Florida
Joe Mather drove in four runs including a two run double to add insurance in the 9th inning as the Cardinals rallied to beat the Marlins 8-4 Wednesday in Jupiter. Defense continues to be a concern especially in the infield.
Starter Todd Wellemeyer gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in his five innings. He got roughed up a big in the third inning, when he faced seven batters. Wellemeyer was only charged with one earned run. Mather commited his second error at third base and Schumaker his fourth at second base.
Royce Ring was next, and he gave up a run with two strikeouts in the sixth inning. Right-hander Mitchell Boggs continues to comeback from early spring shoulder issues as he pitched two perfect innings and picked up the win.
Top 5 questions for the Cardinals
Starting pitching, health, and the middle infield are important questions for the Cardinals heading into the 2009 season, but no bigger question that doesn’t appear to have an answer yet is who will close ball games.
Yesterday, Jason Motte was called on to save the 5-2 win over the Tigers. Chris Perez, Josh Kinney and Ryan Franklin all have their arms in the race to become the closer.
Today, if the Cardinals have the opportunity to save a win against the Marlins, manager Tony LaRussa will go with either Perez or Kinney in that role. I talked with 101 ESPN’s Brian Feldman who is following the Cardinals in Jupiter.
We talked about the closer role and if any of those four has the inside track. My other top four questions. When does Troy Glaus return and is Joe Mather the guy at 3B? Can Skip Schumaker cut it a 2B? LaRussa has a long leash. Is Chris Carpenter mentally ready to return to the mound? My last question, is the team’s health a concern? Colby Rasmus has a hamstring issue. Rick Ankiel was bothered by a sore Achilles tendon, and Ryan Ludwick strained muscles taking extra BP…That’s only the entire projected opening day outfield!
Click to listen to my conversation with Brian.
Duncan and Lohse lead Cardinals
Chris Duncan hit his second home run of the spring, a two run shot. Skip Schumaker continues to swing a hot bat getting a single and double as the Cards beat the Tigers 5-2.
Duncan drove in three runs as he went deep on Tiger starter Zach Miner who was hit fairly hard in his start, allowing three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and no walks.
Starter Kyle Lohse was very sharp, allowing a run on two hits over 4 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and a walk. Ryan Franklin was charged with a run, his first in six innings and Jess Todd tossed two shutout frames
Missouri connections in World Baseball Classic
All I ever hear from baseball analysts is what a pain and bad idea this World Baseball Classic is in terms of teams needing to shuffle around lineups and the risk of injuries for an exhibition game and the modified rules for pitching, etc, etc. I’m enjoying the games.
First off, Team USA actually cares about it this time around. They were embarrassed in 2006. You see the players smiling and laughing in the dugout. It’s great to see.
Second, I enjoy watching how much fans from other countries love cheering their teams on. In Japan, they’ve got cheerleaders in the outfield bleachers, fans chanting songs. There are fans from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with their faces painted and waving flags.
Last, if nothing else, the World Baseball Classic provides competitive baseball with talented players. I’m not about to drop a subscription fee to MLB.com to watch Albert Pujols take a couple of swings or Gil Meche to pitch two innings before they give way to guys I’ll probably never hear from again.
Anyway, here’s a quick rundown of what players are doing that have ties to the Royals and Cardinals or the state of Missouri.
Royals’ second baseman Mark Teahen of Canada is 1 for 6 with a double, two walks and two strikeouts. KC’s catcher Miguel Olivo is 3 for 6, including two home runs and 5 RBI and shortstop Mike Aviles is 2 for 8, he has a double and a walk. Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina is 1 for 4, that two run double sparked a 3-1 win over the Netherlands, and Ray Chang who played his high school and college ball for Rockhurst is 5 for 11 with a home run and 2 RBI, hitting .455 for China.
On the pitching side, Royals’ closer Joakim Soria has pitched one inning, and former Missouri State alum Brad Ziegler who set the record last year for most consecutive innings without giving up a run to start a career has pitched one inning and has given up two runs on a homer.
Bannister roughed up by Cubs
Brian Bannister may find himself on the outside looking in if he doesn’t start to show signs of improvement. Bannister gave up four runs on five hits including a home run to Alfonso Soriano in the Royals 9-1 loss to the Cubs.
Bannister also walked two batters and this spring Bannister’s ERA is 6.75. In three games, Bannister has pitched 8 innings and has given up six runs on eight hits and three walks.
Luke Hochevar gave up a home run as well. Kyle Farnsworth pitched the 9th inning
and gave up three runs against his former team. Mitch Maier drove in the Royals
only run with a two out hit in the third.
[box score]
