Nearly two months in, the St. Louis Cardinals have one victory from twin aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Woe is them, right?

Nope. The Cardinals lead the National League Central because the rest of the arms have been strong enough to withstand two big hits, Wainwright’s elbow reconstruction in February and Carpenter’s roughest stretch by far since joining St. Louis in 2004.

Former setup man Kyle McClellan took Wainwright’s spot and was the National League’s first six-game winner. Jaime Garcia, third in NL rookie of year voting last year, is 5-0 with two shutouts and a 1.93 ERA. Finally free of forearm woes that dogged him most of the last two years, Kyle Lohse is one of baseball’s top innings eaters.

Jake Westbrook is finding his form, too, after a shaky April. Overall, the rotation totals 22 victories.

“Our starting pitching,” manager Tony La Russa, “has been wonderful.”

So far, it’s been more than enough to thrive minus Wainwright, a 20-game winner last year, and with Carpenter scuffling at 1-5 with a 4.58 ERA after a tough-luck complete-game loss at San Diego on Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t say I thought it was impossible, but I didn’t realize they were this good,” Wainwright said. “They’re doing exactly what they’d be doing if I was here. They’re just good.”

Even Carpenter, while not as commanding as in his celebrated past, has not as bad as it might seem. He’s 0-3 with a 1.98 in four starts in which the Cardinals have totaled three runs.

“I just continue to get ready for my next start, I can’t control what’s going on,” Carpenter said. “Things happen. It’s been weird.”

All five have been going deep, especially lately. Six of the last 10 games starters have worked eight innings, easing concerns at middle relief prior to the season and handing it over to one of La Russa’s kid closers, Fernando Salas or Eduardo Sanchez.

Lohse (6-2, 2.06) is second in the league with 74 1/3 innings, trailing only the Phillies’ Roy Halladay. He’s averaging more than seven innings per outing, going eight in three of the last four, and looking even better than pre-injury 2008 when he won 15 games and got a four-year contract extension.

In Lohse’s last 13 starts last season, he lasted six or more innings only three times.

“It doesn’t matter to me who’s up there, I’ve just got to make pitches,” Lohse said. “I’m just keeping things simple and not trying to think of big things or big picture. I haven’t looked back so far.”

McClellan (6-1, 3.11) had 19 holds and two saves last year and never got more than six outs in any of his 68 appearances. He has a pair of eight-inning stints this month, relentlessly attacking Astros hitters in one of them with zero three-ball counts.

Westbrook (4-3, 5.17) has allowed one run in 15 innings his last two outings, outpitching the Marlins’ Josh Johnson and the Phillies’ Cliff Lee. He was 1-2 with a 9.82 ERA his first four starts, judging afterward that he had just been “slinging it up there and hoping something good happens instead of telling myself to have a focus and a purpose for each pitch.”

Besides baffling hitters with an assortment of deliveries topped by a darting fastball, the 24-year-old Garcia has shown maturity on a handful of occasions when he shook off defensive mistakes and just got back to work. At home he’s been nearly untouchable, allowing one earned run in 31 innings.

“I would say that every time I go out there I get better and better mentally,” Garcia said. “You get more experience and you learn what you do in those situations. Stay calm.”

That’s got to be Carpenter’s mantra, too.

The 36-year-old right-hander has won at least 15 games in all six of his healthy seasons with St. Louis, won the NL Cy Young award in 2005 and finished second in 2009. He was closer to his old self at San Diego, tied at 1 against Mat Latos before giving up a pair of runs on two infield hits and a double in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss.

Most of the way so far Carpenter has rarely had all of his pitches working, and surrendered at least 10 hits in three straight starts beginning in late April. He was 0-2 the first month, his first winless month with St. Louis, and has paid for the mistake pitches.

“He’s had a bunch of quality starts,” La Russa said. “He’s had one or two where he had the ball in the middle and they got some base hits. He’s more than doing his part.”

Read more: State, St. Louis Cardinal Baseball, St. Louis Cardinal Pitching, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Kyle Mcclellan, Jaime Garcia, Pro, MLB

(AP) — Nearly two months in, the St. Louis Cardinals have one victory from twin aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Woe is them, right?

Nope. The Cardinals lead the National League Central because the rest of the arms have been strong enough to withstand two big hits,

Wainwright’s elbow reconstruction in February and Carpenter’s roughest stretch by far since joining St. Louis in 2004.

Former setup man Kyle McClellan took Wainwright’s spot and was the National League’s first six-game winner.

Jaime Garcia, third in NL rookie of year voting last year, is 5-0 with two shutouts and a 1.93 ERA.

Finally free of forearm woes that dogged him most of the last two years, Kyle Lohse is one of baseball’s top innings eaters.

Jake Westbrook is finding his form, too, after a shaky April.

Overall, the rotation totals 22 victories.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nearly two months in, the St. Louis Cardinals have one victory from twin aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Woe is them, right?

Nope. The Cardinals lead the National League Central because the rest of the arms have been strong enough to withstand two big hits, Wainwright’s elbow reconstruction in February and Carpenter’s roughest stretch by far since joining St. Louis in 2004.

Former setup man Kyle McClellan took Wainwright’s spot and was the National League’s first six-game winner. Jaime Garcia, third in NL rookie of year voting last year, is 5-0 with two shutouts and a 1.93 ERA. Finally free of forearm woes that dogged him most of the last two years, Kyle Lohse is one of baseball’s top innings eaters.

Jake Westbrook is finding his form, too, after a shaky April. Overall, the rotation totals 22 victories.

“Our starting pitching,” manager Tony La Russa, “has been wonderful.”

So far, it’s been more than enough to thrive minus Wainwright, a 20-game winner last year, and with Carpenter scuffling at 1-5 with a 4.58 ERA after a tough-luck complete-game loss at San Diego Wednesday night.

“I wouldn’t say I thought it was impossible, but I didn’t realize they were this good,” Wainwright said. “They’re doing exactly what they’d be doing if I was here. They’re just good.”

Even Carpenter, while not as commanding as in his celebrated past, has not been as bad as it might seem. He’s 0-3 with a 1.98 ERA in four starts in which the Cardinals have totaled three runs.

“I just continue to get ready for my next start, I can’t control what’s going on,” Carpenter said. “Things happen. It’s been weird.”

All five have been going deep, especially lately. In Six of the last 10 games the starters have worked eight innings, easing concerns at middle relief prior to the season and handing it over to one of La Russa’s kid closers, Fernando Salas or Eduardo Sanchez.

Lohse (6-2, 2.06) is second in the league with 74 1/3 innings, trailing only the Phillies’ Roy Halladay. He’s averaging more than seven innings per outing, going eight in three of the last four, and looking even better than pre-injury 2008 when he won 15 games and got a four-year contract extension.

In Lohse’s final 13 starts last season, he lasted six or more innings only three times.

“It doesn’t matter to me who’s up there, I’ve just got to make pitches,” Lohse said. “I’m just keeping things simple and not trying to think of big things or big picture. I haven’t looked back so far.”

McClellan (6-1, 3.11) had 19 holds and two saves last year and never got more than six outs in any of his 68 appearances. He has a pair of eight-inning stints this month, relentlessly attacking Astros hitters in one of them with zero three-ball counts.

Westbrook (4-3, 5.17) has allowed one run in 15 innings his last two outings, outpitching the Marlins’ Josh Johnson and the Phillies’ Cliff Lee. He was 1-2 with a 9.82 ERA in his first four starts, judging afterward that he had just been “slinging it up there and hoping something good happens instead of telling myself to have a focus and a purpose for each pitch.”

Besides baffling hitters with an assortment of deliveries topped by a darting fastball, the 24-year-old Garcia has shown maturity on a handful of occasions when he shook off defensive mistakes and just got back to work. At home he’s been nearly untouchable, allowing one earned run in 31 innings.

“I would say that every time I go out there I get better and better mentally,” Garcia said. “You get more experience and you learn what you do in those situations. Stay calm.”

That’s got to be Carpenter’s mantra, too.

The 36-year-old right-hander has won at least 15 games in all six of his healthy seasons with St. Louis, won the NL Cy Young award in 2005 and finished second in 2009. He was closer to his old self at San Diego, tied at 1 against Mat Latos before giving up a pair of runs on two infield hits and a double in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss.

Most of the way so far Carpenter has rarely had all of his pitches working, and surrendered at least 10 hits in three straight starts beginning in late April. He was 0-2 the first month, his first winless month with St. Louis, and has paid for the mistake pitches.

“He’s had a bunch of quality starts,” La Russa said. “He’s had one or two where he had the ball in the middle and they got some base hits. He’s more than doing his part.”

Nearly two months in, the St. Louis Cardinals have one victory from twin aces Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Woe is them, right?
Nope. The Cardinals lead the National League Central because the rest of the arms have been strong enough to withstand two big hits, Wainwright’s elbow reconstruction in February and Carpenter’s roughest stretch by far since joining St. Louis in 2004.
Former setup man Kyle McClellan took Wainwright’s spot and was the National League’s first six-game winner. Jaime Garcia, third in NL rookie of year voting last year, is 5-0 with two shutouts and a 1.93 ERA. Finally free of forearm woes that dogged him most of the last two years, Kyle Lohse is one of baseball’s top innings eaters.
Jake Westbrook is finding his form, too, after a shaky April. Overall, the rotation totals 22 victories.
“Our starting pitching,” manager Tony La Russa, “has been wonderful.”
So far, it’s been more than enough to thrive minus Wainwright, a 20-game winner last year, and with Carpenter scuffling at 1-5 with a 4.58 ERA after a tough-luck complete-game loss at San Diego on Wednesday.
“I wouldn’t say I thought it was impossible, but I didn’t realize they were this good,” Wainwright said. “They’re doing exactly what they’d be doing if I was here. They’re just good.”
Even Carpenter, while not as commanding as in his celebrated past, has not as bad as it might seem. He’s 0-3 with a 1.98 in four starts in which the Cardinals have totaled three runs.
“I just continue to get ready for my next start, I can’t control what’s going on,” Carpenter said. “Things happen. It’s been weird.”
All five have been going deep, especially lately. Six of the last 10 games starters have worked eight innings, easing concerns at middle relief prior to the season and handing it over to one of La Russa’s kid closers, Fernando Salas or Eduardo Sanchez.
Lohse (6-2, 2.06) is second in the league with 74 1/3 innings, trailing only the Phillies’ Roy Halladay. He’s averaging more than seven innings per outing, going eight in three of the last four, and looking even better than pre-injury 2008 when he won 15 games and got a four-year contract extension.
In Lohse’s last 13 starts last season, he lasted six or more innings only three times.
“It doesn’t matter to me who’s up there, I’ve just got to make pitches,” Lohse said. “I’m just keeping things simple and not trying to think of big things or big picture. I haven’t looked back so far.”
McClellan (6-1, 3.11) had 19 holds and two saves last year and never got more than six outs in any of his 68 appearances. He has a pair of eight-inning stints this month, relentlessly attacking Astros hitters in one of them with zero three-ball counts.
Westbrook (4-3, 5.17) has allowed one run in 15 innings his last two outings, outpitching the Marlins’ Josh Johnson and the Phillies’ Cliff Lee. He was 1-2 with a 9.82 ERA his first four starts, judging afterward that he had just been “slinging it up there and hoping something good happens instead of telling myself to have a focus and a purpose for each pitch.”
Besides baffling hitters with an assortment of deliveries topped by a darting fastball, the 24-year-old Garcia has shown maturity on a handful of occasions when he shook off defensive mistakes and just got back to work. At home he’s been nearly untouchable, allowing one earned run in 31 innings.
“I would say that every time I go out there I get better and better mentally,” Garcia said. “You get more experience and you learn what you do in those situations. Stay calm.”
That’s got to be Carpenter’s mantra, too.
The 36-year-old right-hander has won at least 15 games in all six of his healthy seasons with St. Louis, won the NL Cy Young award in 2005 and finished second in 2009. He was closer to his old self at San Diego, tied at 1 against Mat Latos before giving up a pair of runs on two infield hits and a double in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss.
Most of the way so far Carpenter has rarely had all of his pitches working, and surrendered at least 10 hits in three straight starts beginning in late April. He was 0-2 the first month, his first winless month with St. Louis, and has paid for the mistake pitches.
“He’s had a bunch of quality starts,” La Russa said. “He’s had one or two where he had the ball in the middle and they got some base hits. He’s more than doing his part.”

BASEBALL

LAKELAND, Fla. — Chris Carpenter was given a vote of confidence in his return to the mound from a hamstring injury: He was named the St. Louis Cardinals’ opening day starter.

In his first outing since March 1 when he injured his left hamstring, Carpenter gave up three runs and six hits in four innings for the Cardinals in a 9-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.

“I feel fine right now, and I’ll be ready for opening day,” Carpenter said. “All I need to do now is get my pitch count up and not hurt anything. It felt better as I went along.”

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was impressed with Carpenter, who even made two quick moves to throw out Tigers runners and had no problem backing up home plate.

“The biggest tests were the ones he made in the field,” La Russa said. “He’ll be ready for opening day.”

The Tigers got to Carpenter for two early runs, but Carpenter said he never felt frustrated. He got out of the jam and only allowed three hits the rest of the way before being pulled after giving up a double to Austin Jackson to open the fifth.

Wainwright reports to begin rehab of elbow

Adam Wainwright reported to the St. Louis Cardinals’ spring training in Jupiter, Fla., for elbow rehab less than three weeks after undergoing reconstructive surgery.

Before undergoing exercises Wednesday designed to improve range of motion, the 20-game winner was optimistic that he’ll be ready to go next spring. Wainwright plans on being with the team throughout the season.

“I should be better than new,” Wainwright said. “Think about it. You get a year off to strengthen your body in every way, you get a year to think about the things you could have done differently, and you’ve got an all-new ligament in your arm.”

Wainwright said he’s lost 6 to 7 pounds since surgery on Feb. 28 due to inactivity, and said he won’t be able to resume conditioning for another two weeks.

“You lose your appetite, your muscles atrophy,” Wainwright said. “It’s not depressing, but I look in the mirror and it’s like ‘Who is this person?’ “

IN DEVELOPMENTS

Braves coach loses eye: Atlanta Braves minor league manager Luis Salazar has lost his left eye after he was struck in the face by a line drive while watching a spring training game on March 9. The 54-year-old is otherwise recovering from his injuries and expects to manage Lynchburg of the Class A Carolina League this season.

Briefly: New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran played catch and took batting practice Wednesday, his first baseball activity in more than a week because of tendinitis in his left knee. … Twins catcher Joe Mauer, recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee, singled in three at-bats in his first spring training action. … Ivan Nova, competing with for one of two open spots in the New York Yankees’ starting rotation, threw six no-hit innings, in a 10-0 win over the Orioles.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Chris Carpenter returned from a left hamstring injury and gave up three runs in four innings for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 9-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.

Carpenter hadn’t pitched since being injured March 1. He said his leg felt fine and that he could have gone further.

Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said that Carpenter, who went 16-9 with a 3.22 ERA would be the Cardinals opening day starter. Twenty-game winner Adam Wainwright is out for the season after having reconstructive surgery on his right elbow Feb. 28. Wainwright was at the Cardinals camp in Jupiter, Fla., to begin his rehabilitation.

The Cardinals roughed up Tigers starter Phil Coke with seven runs in 3 2-3 innings.