JUPITER, Fla. — The phrase that players or managers will use to describe a muggy afternoon at the ballpark with an equally oppressive result on the scoreboard during spring training is to note that, hey, the players "got their work in."
Well, the Cardinals got their work in Saturday.
There was definite work and it absolutely got in.
Steven Matz began the game with a swift, assertive, three-pitch strikeout and that was the high point for the Cardinals. The Mets pounced for a four-run lead, more than doubled that lead later, and then came three outs shy of becoming the latest team to shut out the Cardinals.
Prospect Thomas Saggese started the scoring in the ninth with a solo homer and catcher Pedro Pages followed with a two-run shot that tidied a game that the Mets once led by nine runs.
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The final?
Mets 9, Cardinals in the ninth inning, 3.
Saggese, the reigning Texas League MVP and one of the spoils of being a seller at the trade deadline, had two hits Friday night against the Nationals. He's been one of the Cardinals' leading hitters in Grapefruit League games. A high-average hitter who doesn't wear batting gloves, Saggese has shown growing power as he advances toward the majors.
The Cardinals' rally in the ninth included a couple of hit batters and after Pages' two-run shot, they loaded the bases for Luken Baker. Baker popped up to end the game.
Below is a rundown of the other work that got in.
Second baseman Brendan Donovan took issue with being called for a shift violation. The umpire in the field believed Donovan had his feet on the grass when the play began and not on the dirt, as the rule requires.
Before the eighth inning, the Cardinals had two hits. Dylan Carlson, continuing to have success from the right side of the plate, singled, and shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa had the Cardinals other hit. Mets lefty Sean Manaea otherwise cruised around three walks that he issued to complete four scoreless innings on 61 pitches. He limited the Cardinals to those two hits and struck out five.
Matz struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches — three different pitches at three different octaves of velocity.
He started Mets leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo off with a fastball for a swing and miss. Matz followed that with a 80-mph curveball for a swing and miss. The third pitch, an 86-mph changeup, also got a swing and miss, and from there Matz's first start of spring was off and running.
Or, rather, from there he was off and there were runs.
Three of the next four Mets had extra-base hits as the sinker that Matz landed against Nimmo started to stray up in the zone. Francisco Lindor tagged a pitch that was up in the zone (but not up enough for the miss) and drove it out for a solo homer. Mark Vientos and Ji-Man Choi had back-to-back doubles, the latter coming on a curveball, and then Brett Baty added an RBI single. The Mets opened a 3-0 lead in the first inning, extended it to 4-0 in the second and the game ambled on from there.
Matz allowed four runs on the five hits through his two innings. It took him 47 pitches (34 strikes) to collect the six outs. He did not walk a batter and struck out two.
The Cardinals' parade of relievers got the game into the eighth without allowing a run and turned it over to prospect Sem Robberse. The Mets more than doubled their lead with five runs in the final two innings.
Andre Pallante struck out two in his scoreless inning of work. He got three swings and misses on a new curveball that he started working on this past winter for the direct purpose of getting more swings and misses.
Wilking Rodriguez walked a batter and then got two quick groundballs for a double play and an inning-ending bouncer.
Riley O'Brien had a comeback-bolt at him, and he had to pitch around that and an error in his inning.
"Glad it got all glove," manager Oliver Marmol said. "First time he's had traffic. Sometimes these guys go through spring and don't have traffic. Good to see (O'Brien get out of the inning)."
In his Cardinals debut, Brandon Crawford hit into a double play and flew out to left field. He'll appear at shortstop in the starting lineup for at least one of the next two exhibition games, both of which are set for Roger Dean Stadium before the Cardinals take their one trip across the state this month.Â
From earlier ...Â
Brandon Crawford starts at DH in Cardinals debut while Tommy Edman's rehab stalls again
One of the leading reasons the Cardinals made a bid for longtime San Francisco fixture and steady-eddy shortstop Brandon Crawford was still a concern Saturday as Crawford readied to appear in his first pro game ever outside of the Giants' organization.
Tommy Edman, the Cardinals' preferred starting center fielder and their backup shortstop entering camp, has had another pause in his recovery from wrist surgery. The Cardinals are discussing next steps in his plan so that he stops having cycles of progress for a few days and then difficulty.
The Cardinals say it is "doubtful" that Edman will be available for opening day, and he has now stopped his activities for a second time in 10 days.
For how long will be determined this weekend, as early as Saturday afternoon.
By that time, Crawford will be a couple of plate appearances into his Cardinals career. The three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove award-winner will start at designated hitter Saturday against the Mets, as previously planned. The goal is to get him two plate appearances, though he may take a third depending on the turn of the game and how Crawford feels, manager Oliver Marmol said.
Crawford's next game will be at shortstop either Sunday or Monday.
While Crawford's first game is the headline of the day — quite literally, right there above this article — a subplot to the day is Steven Matz's first start of this spring. The lefty has been on a slower schedule than the other starters as the Cardinals prioritized keeping him healthy and increasing his workload at a different pace than the rotation. In an inning of relief this past week, Matz zipped through his assignment and touched 96 mph with his fastball.
At Roger Dean Stadium on Saturday, he'll get to prepare for the game as a starter and pitch two or three innings, depending on pitch count.
And it will come against his first team and the team that the Cardinals outbid to sign him several years ago, the Mets.
Here is the lineup that will be at his back:
1. Brendan Donovan, 2B
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Brandon Crawford, DH
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Willson Contreras, C
6. Dylan Carlson, CF
7. Alfonso Rivas, LF
8. Jared Young, RF
9. Arquimedes Gamboa, SS
Pitcher: Steven Matz, LHP. Also listed as available to pitch: RHP Andre Pallante, RHP Riley O'Brien, RHP Sem Robberse, RHP Nick Robertson, RHP Ryan Fernandez, RHP Wilking Rodriguez, and RHP Ryan Loutos.