JUPITER, Fla. - Chris Carpenter played catch for about 10 minutes Thursday morning and reported that his injured left hamstring is improving.
Carpenter
left in the third inning of his first spring start on Tuesday after
"feeling a twinge" in his left hamstring. It was diagnosed as a slight
left hamstring strain.
The right-hander threw with pretty good
effort Thursday in the outfield of a back field at the Cardinals'
complex at Roger Dean Stadium. He threw to assistant trainer Barry
Weinberg as pitching coach Dave Duncan looked on.
"It was fine,"
Carpenter said. "I still feel it a little but which I think is expected.
I think they expect it to still be there a little bit. But if it keeps
getting better every day like it has then we'll be fine."
Carpenter
said he wasn't sure when he would try to throw off a mound but
confirmed that he likely will miss his next scheduled start on Sunday.
"I'll
continue to play catch, I have to keep my arm in shape," Carpenter
said. "We'll come in and see how it is. If it's feeling good, we'll talk
about what we're going to do. It's going to have to totally be gone
before they can (clear him to pitch)."
The Cardinals haven't
announced who will start in Carpenter's place on Sunday. The club
remains hopeful he can make his next scheduled start a week from Friday
on March 11 vs. Detroit.
Franklin throws two scoreless innings in debut
Some
might say Ryan Franklin was in midseason form Thursday, allowing three
hits to load the bases before getting out of the fourth inning
unscathed.
Franklin tossed two scoreless innings in his first
outing of the spring, helping the Cardinals beat the Washington
Nationals, 7-5, at Roger Dean Stadium.
"It's a start, I felt
good," Franklin said. "I got the ball up a couple times in the first
inning but like I said, it doesn't matter, I'll load the bases every
time with two outs if you get them out. Might not be good for the fans,
they might have a heart attack, but I felt good."
The veteran
doesn't have the high strikeout numbers that some closers do, often
making the ninth inning interesting for fans. But one can't argue with
the results as Franklin blew just two saves last year and was an
All-Star in 2009.
Franklin relieved starter Brandon Dickson to
start the fourth inning and allowed three singles to load the bases. But
he got leadoff man Nyjer Morgan to ground out to Albert Pujols at first
to end the inning.
After he sat in the dugout for almost 30
minutes as the Cardinals scored five runs to take a 5-2 lead, Franklin
returned for his scheduled second inning of work and retired the side in
order.
"A little longer wait between the first and second
inning, like 45 minutes or so," Franklin said. "I wasn't expecting that,
but I went out there and 1-2-3."
Asked what a veteran like him
wants to accomplish in spring training, Franklin said, "Feel good and I
want to make sure that I'm working on keeping my fastball down in the
zone. If I'm 91, 92 an occasional 93, that's a little different than 95,
96. Some guys can live up in the zone but I have to make sure I'm
keeping the ball down. If I'm keeping the ball down I won't have any
problems.
"I felt good the first inning, but it was the first
outing. Maybe a little amped up and the ball just rose, but I did throw
some good pitches down."
Franklin typically throws two innings in
his first couple of appearances to work on all of his pitches before
cutting back to one inning outings later in camp. He said his next
outing will likely be two innings again.
Berkman scratched with calf tightness
Outfielder Lance Berkman was scratched from today's game against the Nationals with tightness in his left calf.
It's
not believed to be anything serious and a club official said the
Cardinals just wanted to give him an extra day to rest his legs. Berkman
is still expected to travel to Kissimmee for Friday's game against the
Astros.
Mark Hamilton slid up into Berkman's cleanup spot in the
order and remained in right field. Zack Cox, the Cardinals top draft
pick last year, became the designated hitter and hit fifth.
Hamilton getting opportunity in outfield
With
a guy named Albert Pujols playing first base, Mark Hamilton realizes
his path to the big leagues is kind of blocked at first base.
So
the left-handed throwing and hitting Hamilton hopes to try and show his
worth as a potential option in the outfield, starting with a start in
right field today against the Washington Nationals.
