By Rob Rains
JUPITER, Fla. – Maybe it was the return of Matt Carpenter to the lineup. Maybe it was the rest from having Monday off. Whatever the reason, the Cardinals’ offense woke up on Tuesday.
The Cardinals sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring six times, and added five more runs in the second en route to an 11-4 win over the Marlins.
In his first true game this spring, Carpenter walked in both of his plate appearances – in the first two innings. Each time he came around to score.
Marcell Ozuna, hitting .143 for the spring coming into the game, followed the walks to Carpenter with hits in both innings, including an RBI double in the first.
Carpenter believes that is the way the offense can work this season, with him following Dexter Fowler and Tommy Pham in the order and hitting ahead of Ozuna.
“You look at potentially what could be our one through four, what we saw today – we’ve got some guys who can get on base and you saw what happened,” Carpenter said. “Having people on base just changes things for you as a hitter. When you see somebody standing out there it just does something for you.
“Our potential one through three, you are talking about three guys who could go .370 or more in on-base percentage. That’s going to be a lot of guys on base. I like what our offense is capable of.”
Carpenter knows there are still skeptics who question how successful he will be hitting third when he has struggled to hit anywhere other than leadoff thus far in his career, but he believes he will quiet those people this season. Part of the reason for that is because of who will be hitting ahead of him and behind him.
“Today was a really good example of that,” he said. “Dexter gets on, Tommy got out but when you get into these 2-0 counts I just know he (the pitcher) wanted to just throw fastballs for strikes because he doesn't want o put me on base in front of Ozuna. You can feel that as a hitter. I can't stress enough how important that is for the middle of your lineup to have a threat of the guys on base in front of you. It does so much for the lineup and for that player.
“My approach is going to be the same no matter what but what I think it's going to do … in my short time in the three hole last season, I just found myself in a lot of hitters counts where they would rather walk you. I don't feel like that is going to be the case this year. They don't want to add somebody on base in front of a guy who hit 30 home runs last season and drove in 100. I think I am going to get more pitches to hit.”
Carpenter said he plans to play first base on Wednesday and believes he will get in a few games at second base by the end of the week and at third base next week, in case the team wants him to play either of those spots on occasion during the regular season.
Other news and notes from Tuesday:
High: Jose Martinez also had two hits and matched Fowler’s three RBIs.
Low: Pham was the only starter who didn’t join in the offensive fun, making two of the outs in the first inning and finishing 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts.
At the plate: Yadier Molina added two hits and had two RBIs, one coming on a sacrifice fly … Yairo Munoz continued his strong spring by playing well at shortstop and reaching base four times with two hits and a pair of walks, driving in two runs. He is now hitting .375 for the spring … The Cardinals had only one hit after the second inning.
On the mound: Carlos Martinez worked four innings, allowing four runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked two … Five relievers covered the last five innings without allowing a run, allowing just three hits. Matt Bowman and Brett Cecil each worked a 1-2-3 inning.
In the clubhouse: Manager Mike Matheny said reliever Luke Gregerson should be healthy enough to pitch in a game in the next few days. Gregerson, battling an oblique issue, was able to play catch on Tuesday, one day after returning from his trip to the White House to celebrate the Astros’ World Series victory last year … In a minor-league transaction on Monday, the Cardinals released Jordan Schafer, who had been sent back from the big-league camp last week and was on the Memphis roster.
Up next: Adam Wainwright is scheduled to start on Wednesday when the Cardinals will play the Astros in West Palm Beach.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains