JUPITER, Fla. - Jake Westbrook figured he would throw about 50 pitches Wednesday. He didn't expect they would all come in just two innings.
Making his first start of the spring, the Cardinals right-hander labored through two tough innings at Roger Dean Stadium as the Cardinals came from behind to beat the Mets, 3-2.
Westbrook allowed two runs on five hits, allowing as many base runners (six) as he recorded outs. He had trouble putting any of the Mets hitters away, routinely having lengthy at-bats as they continued to foul pitches off.
"I felt strong even with the 35-pitch second inning or whatever it was," Westbrook said. "I still felt strong. I made some decent pitches. I gave up a lot of foul balls which kind of hurt my pitch count. I got ahead and then started getting deep in some counts.
"I need to do a better job of getting some quicker outs but it was the first one and I felt great which is the most important part and kind of build off of that."
Westbrook allowed a two-out single in the first before a drive by Nick Evans hit the top of the wall and went for a double. That put runners at second and third for Daniel Murphy, who grounded out to end the threat.
He couldn't escape trouble in the second after he allowed a leadoff walk to Scott Hairston. With runners at first and second and one out, infielder Ruben Tejada lined a single up the middle. Hairston was going to stop at third but the ball bounced off Colby Rasmus' glove in center and went into the air.
That allowed Hairston to score and catcher Mike Nickeas to advance from first to third. He scored on a bloop single to right by the next hitter, Luis Castillo. Westbrook got Angel Pagan to fly to left and Jason Bay on a nice play by Allen Craig at third base to end the inning.
"You definitely want to go out there and get people out but for me, it's trying to work on my sinker command, throwing strikes down in the bottom of the zone and try not to be too picky," Westbrook said. "I wasn't real sharp today with it but it was my first one and the important thing is that I felt great and strong and I got my pitch count in.
"I would have loved to throw three innings in less than 50 pitches. Ultimately that's the type of pitcher I need to be, where I go out there and get early contact, quick innings, keep my pitch count down and get deep in the ballgame. That was kind of the complete opposite of what I did today. But two innings, 50 pitches, I got my work in. It wasn't the way I wanted to, but I got it in none the less."
Westbrook threw 32 of his 50 pitches for strikes. He will start again on Monday in Fort Myers against the Twins.
Lineup spot doesn't matter to Rasmus
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says outfielder Colby Rasmus could hit either second or sixth this season. As long as Rasmus is in the lineup, he said Wednesday, he could care less where he's hitting.
The left-handed hitting Rasmus had a .361 on-base percentage last year and would seem to be a perfect candidate to hit in the No. 2 spot, giving La Russa the thunder he enjoys having in that spot in the order.
But Rasmus could deepen the Cardinals lineup and hit sixth, following Lance Berkman and likely getting more chances to bat with runners on base. But Rasmus said his approach wouldn't change no matter where La Russa decides to bat him.
"I'm not going to do anything different in either spot," Rasmus said. "It doesn't matter to me. I'm just going to hit the ball and run. I'm not worried about it either way. I figure if I go up there trying to change something, it's going to mess me up. I'm just going to go up there and do what I do.
"You never know. There could be guys getting on base at the bottom of the lineup. If there's guys on base, I'm going to try and knock them in. If I come up with nobody on, I'm going to try to get on base so the big guys can knock me in. It doesn't matter to me."
If Rasmus hits sixth, shortstop Ryan Theriot seems like the logical guy to bat second. He's batted second in both of his spring training starts this year with second baseman Skip Schumaker batting leadoff.
Carpenter, Boggs feeling better
Both Chris Carpenter and Mitchell Boggs are feeling better after leaving Tuesday's game with injuries but the timetables for their absence remains unknown.
Carpenter strained his left hamstring in the third inning. Boggs replaced him and suffered a strained lower back an inning later.
The Cardinals remain hopeful Carpenter will miss just one start but manager Tony La Russa said Wednesday morning that he could miss two starts and still be ready in time to start Opening Day on March 31.
"'Carp' did not come in worse which is a good sign," La Russa said. "He's got a little something. We haven't decided for sure but I think probably will air on the side of caution and (skip) a start.
"The first step was to see when he came in today, if he was a lot more sore, then that first diagnosis about a tweak or a minor deal was inaccurate, but so far we're hoping that's right."
Boggs won't throw today but said he was feeling better. He said his back was "just a little tight" and that he was alternating cold and hot treatment to try and help loosen it up. He expects to only miss a couple of days.
La Russa said the Cardinals were "playing around" with a potential starter to replace Carpenter in his next scheduled start on Sunday but weren't ready to announce anything as of Wednesday.
Freese won't start until Monday
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa now expects third baseman David Freese to make his first start of the spring on Monday in Fort Myers.
The Cardinals were originally going to look into the possibility of having Freese start Thursday since the Cardinals have two split-squad games, but La Russa said they plan to hold him off until Monday so they have, "no regrets" about playing him before he was ready.
"He could play this weekend, he's cleared to play," La Russa said. "But let's just back off. He's feeling great. He's moving great. We'll still be careful�Monday is the day I expect him to play."
Freese his .296 with four home runs and 36 RBIs in 70 games for the Cardinals last year before going down with an ankle injury in June. He eventually had surgeries in the offseason on both ankles.
La Russa said Freese will be available to pinch-hit the next few days, like he did when he flew out to center on Monday.
Cardinals beat Mets, 3-2, for second straight win
Jon Jay had two more hits and an RBI and the Cardinals scored single runs in the third, sixth and seven innings to overcome an early 2-0 deficit and beat the New York Mets, 3-2, at Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday.
Albert Pujols went 0-for-3 with three swinging strikeouts for the Cardinals, who won their second game in a row after losing in their spring opener on Monday.
Jay doubled home the Cardinals first run in the third inning. He also singled in the fifth but was left at first base.
The Cardinals tied the game 2-2 in the sixth on an RBI double from Matt Carpenter. A sacrifice fly from Gerald Laird brought home the eventual winning run in the seventh.
Jason Motte earned the win in relief. He tossed two shutout innings. Trever Miller had a scoreless eighth and Fernando Salas pitched the ninth to earn his first save of the spring.
Lance Lynn pitched three shutout innings in relief of Westbrook. A full story on his outing is available on this site.
