Waino throws to hitters and -- surprise! -- says he'll be ready Opening Day
JUPITER, Fla. -- Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright has yet to be cleared for fielding or running, but after throwing to hitters Thursday morning, he said there's still time for him to be ready for Opening Day.
Big surprise there, right?
"I would never tell you no, would I?" Wainwright said with a smile. "Even if I had only two (spring) starts, I would tell you that's plenty. There's way more than enough time for me to get ready."
He's right on two counts: His right arm could be in a cast and he would declare himself good to go. And, more important, he really has enough time.
Wainwright could make his spring debut as late as March 21 and still have time to make three starts before the April 5 opener at Wrigley Field. Though most starters typically make five starts in the exhibition season, the Cardinals were planning to limit Wainwright's work this spring.
They don't figure to rush Wainwright into the regular season, either, and with three off days before their eighth game, if need be, they could go with four starters and hold him back until April 16. Of course, they would not likely get Wainwright's approval.
Since Wainwright was slowed by a mild abdominal strain early in camp, he has been held back from fielding drills and running but has continued to throw. He likely will have at least one more live batting practice before he gets into an exhibition. That's fine by him, as long as there's someone in the batter's box.
"You learn a lot from facing hitters. Their swings don't lie," Wainwright said. "They'll tell you whether your ball is moving or if it's located well, if it's got some hair on it. They tell you all that kind of stuff."
What they told him about this 35-pitch (or thereabouts), "two-inning" session was that his fastball command is lacking but his changeup and curveball are working. Peter Bourjos, 0 for 12 in the exhibitions, slugged a fastball to the batter's eye and lined another up the middle.
"Bourjos put a couple of good at-bats on a couple of balls that big-league hitters are supposed to hit," Wainwright said.
Unlike his session against hitters earlier this week, when Wainwright mainly was testing his health, he said this session was more about "honing in some of those pitches."
"I did on about 80 percent of them," he added. "Some of them, I threw some really bad pitches that got hit."
Wainwright added he wasn't throwing at game-type intensity, not that he needed to. Opening Day, after all, still is more than three weeks away.
THREE STRIKES
• Garcia is on. Left-hander Jaime Garcia looked sharp in a four-inning, 50-pitch outing in the Cardinals' 8-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon. He gave up two hits and a run in the first but got better as his day continued. He retired the last nine batters he faced and needed only 20 pitches combined in the third and fourth innings.
FOX Sports Midwest is televising 15 Cardinals spring training games this season. For a full schedule, click here.
"Started a little rough, but it was good," said Garcia, whose command was much sharper than in his first start last Saturday.
"We saw sinkers in the dirt and guys are swinging and missing. That's just different stuff than anybody else has," Matheny said. "He had a real nice slider working, threw some strike curveballs, we saw changeups. It was a good outing."
Garcia will have at least one extra day before his next start, according to the upcoming rotation plans, which include Zach Petrick going on Friday, Michael Wacha on Saturday, Martinez on Sunday, John Lackey in his spring debut on Monday and Marco Gonzales on Tuesday.
• Reynolds' first homer is a no-doubter. With two on and a 2-0 count against Orioles right-hander Bud Norris, Mark Reynolds did what the Cardinals hope to see a lot of this season. He hit the ball a long way, onto the patio of the Marlins' complex that sits well beyond the left-field fence at Roger Dean Stadium. While Reynolds was pleased to see some results of the work he's putting in, he wasn't exactly impressed with his first homer -- and the team's fifth -- of the spring.
"Those don't go on the back of your baseball card," said Reynolds, adding that he knew Norris would be trying to come across the plate and "I was trying to be aggressive."
Reynolds was hit on the left elbow in his first plate appearance and said it left his arm numb for an inning. But judging from the results of his second at-bat, he's fine.
• Prospect makes impressive debut. Throwing a fastball that reached 97 mph, 20-year-old right-hander Alex Reyes worked a three-up, three-down eighth inning in his first outing this spring. Not only did his heater impress Matheny because "he was nice and fluid," so did throwing a 3-2 changeup for a strike.
"Fun to watch," Matheny said. "It was nice that some of our fans back home got to take a peek at him." The game was the first televised by Fox Sports Midwest this spring.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.