Wainwright struggles as Cardinals fall
JUPITER, Fla. — Adam Wainwright was unhappy with his location and his mechanics.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ ace struggled in his second spring-training start, giving up five runs and eight hits over three innings Saturday in a 6-2 loss to the Washington Nationals.
Gio Gonzalez won his second exhibition start for the Nationals, allowing two runs and five hits in three innings.
Kurt Suzuki doubled off Wainwright leading off the second and scored on Chris Marrero’s single. One out later. Anthony Rendon homered on a drive more than halfway up the batter’s eye beyond the center-field wall.
Eury Perez singled and scored on a throwing error by shortstop Ronny Cedeno following Danny Espinoza’s single. Chris Marrero added an RBI single in the third that put the Nationals ahead 5-1.
“There are two trains of thought. You go, well it’s just spring training, I’m just getting used to things and working on stuff,” Wainwright said. “The other is, that wasn’t very good. I lean toward the second one, with a small hint of the first one.”
Unhappy with his mechanics, Wainwright allowed four earned runs.
“I left a lot of balls up and the guys obviously made me pay for the ones that were up,” he said. “Rather than break with my plan and start flipping breaking balls in there and change-ups and sliders, I kept grinding through it.”
Right-hander Shelby Miller, trying to win the Cardinals’ fifth starter job, followed Wainwright in his first exhibition appearance of the year after being slowed by a sore shoulder. Miller struck out Rendon, Perez and Espinoza in order in the fourth, then allowed Ian Desmond’s wind-aided home run to right in the fifth.
DEVELOPMENTS
Selig wants tougher drug penalties: Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig wants tougher penalties for major league players who violate the sport’s drug agreement.
Speaking at a news conference on Saturday in Scottsdale Ariz., Selig says the situation surrounding last year’s positive drug test of All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera and the allegations players received banned substances from a now closed Florida antiaging clinic helped lead him to seek stiffening of penalties as quickly as possible.
He declined to give any specifics of what he had in mind, saying MLB Executive Vice President Rob Manfred and players’ association head Michael Weiner will meet.
Selig says he wants in- creased penalties “as expeditiously as possible.”
Since 2006, initial infractions result in a 50game suspension and second offenses in a 100-game ban. No player has been penalized a third time, which results in a lifetime suspension
Marlins sign Stanton: The Miami Marlins on Saturday announced they renewed Giancarlo Stanton’s 2013 contract and those of six others: Logan Morrison, Wade LeBlanc, Mike Dunn, Rob Brantly, Alex Sanabia and Henderson Alvarez.
Stanton, a rising star for the Marlins, will reportedly earn $537,000, just $47,000 more than the major league minimum. Players with less than three years of service time have no negotiating leverage.
Lincecum scratched: San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum was scratched from a start against the Chicago Cubs in Scottsdale because of a blister on his right middle finger.
Lincecum allowed three runs and four hits in an inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday during his first springtraining start this year.
Yusmeiro Petit took his place Saturday. He had appeared in one exhibition game, throwing two scoreless innings.
Lincecum said he didn’t think the injury was serious and said he planned to still play catch.
A two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, Lincecum went 10-15 with a 5.18 ERA last year and was shifted to the bullpen in the postseason.
EXHIBITION GAMES
Ivan Nova allowed an infield single over two scoreless innings and the New York Yankees stopped a seven- game losing streak by beating a Detroit Tigers split squad 10-3 on Saturday in Tampa. Trying to make the rotation after faltering down the stretch last season, Nova struck out one during an outing in which he threw 22 of 27 pitches for strikes. The right-hander went 12-8 with a 5.02 ERA last year, down from 16-4 the year before ... Jose Quintana, who started strong and faded late as a rookie last season, tossed three perfect innings for the Chicago White Sox in their 4- 0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. The left-hander pitched a combined 185 innings between Double-A Birmingham and the majors last year. ... Josh Reddick hit a three-run home run in the third inning, leading the Oakland Athletics to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies in Phoenix. Reddick entered the game with one hit in his first eight at-bats of spring training but broke out of the slump with two hits. Brandon Moss also homered for the A’s.