Major League Baseball

Cardinals 4, Marlins 2

Published Mar. 19, 2012 2:14 a.m. ET

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Adam Wainwright looked at himself in the mirror Sunday and liked what he saw.

Wainwright watched himself practice his motion before the game and then went out and limited the Marlins to one hit and an unearned run in four innings of the St. Louis Cardinals' 4-2 victory over Miami.

''Just get in front of the mirror and look at your body, delivery, mechanics,'' Wainwright said. ''If you are going to make good adjustments on the mound you need to understand your delivery. That's one of the things I try to stay on top of.''

David Freese's three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth innings gave the Cardinals the lead. Marlins starter Carlos Zambrano allowed one run on four hits in four innings. Zambrano struck out seven, upping his spring total to 16 in 9 1-3 innings.

''I guess I went back to being a strike out pitcher,'' Zambrano said. ''Everything is there. I'm throwing the ball where I want to.''

Wainwright, who missed the entire 2011 season after having elbow surgery, has started three games. He has allowed two hits and no runs.

''That shows he's not just healing, his focus and everything is there,'' Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

Matheny was happy with all of Wainwright's pitches. Wainwright was especially pleased with his fastball.

''Last game my body was way out of control,'' Wainwright said. ''Today I controlled my body and that allowed me to get on top of the ball and throw a lot of good quality pitches down in the zone. Last time I was fighting the ball up in the zone.''

John Buck's single in the third inning was the lone hit off Wainwright.

Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen has been preaching patience to right-hander Zambrano this spring, especially with runners on base.

''Carlos threw the ball better today,'' Guillen said. ''When he got people on base he handled himself a lot better. If this kid can control that, he's going to have a chance to be what he was.''

Zambrano pitched out of a two on and one out jam in the third inning by retiring Lance Berkman and Freese.

''You have to calm down when you have men on base, release the ball good and get the tempo,'' Zambrano said. ''Today I was a little rushed when I had that situation. I got it back and I was able to get Berkman out and Freese.''

Zambrano said his biggest mistake was a ball Matt Holiday crushed for a double that hit the top of the outfield wall in left-center. Holiday was 2 for 3.

''He's a great hitter, he's strong,'' Zambrano said. ''I made a mistake and he's the type of hitter anybody makes a mistake to him he will make you pay.''

NOTE: The Marlins send down 11 players Sunday, including pitcher Brad Hand and third baseman Matt Dominguez, reducing their roster to 42 players.

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