St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros - News - March 17, 2021 | FOX Sports

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・March 17, 2021 March 17 Mar 17

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FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, FL

Stretches out further in sim gameFlaherty, who's logged five innings of Grapefruit League action over two appearances, stretched out to 83 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

ImpactThe right-hander has been hittable in both instances he's taken the mound against opposing squads, giving up a total of five earned runs on six hits over those five frames. That trend continued Tuesday in the form of friendly fire, as Silver relays Flaherty gave up a pair of home runs to Paul Goldschmidt and one to Paul DeJong in the sim game. However, Flaherty did at least ramp up his workload ahead of an Opening Day start versus the Reds.

MARCH 19, 2021•ROTOWIRE

Eventful second appearanceHicks allowed an unearned run on two walks and a hit batsman over two-thirds of an inning in a Grapefruit League tie with the Astros on Wednesday.

ImpactMaking his second appearance of spring after a 22-pitch battle of wills against the Mets' Luis Guillorme encompassed the first Sunday, Hicks once again put together a rather unusual performance. The flamethrowing right-hander worked himself into trouble with an error on a comebacker and some notable control issues, but manager Mike Shildt kept things in perspective when evaluating Hicks' second taste of game action in 21 months. "I think it's just getting back into competition in over a year," Shildt said. "I thought it was a fantastic outing. Ton of soft contact, around the plate again. I was really, really, really pleased with Jordan."

MARCH 19, 2021•ROTOWIRE

Shows well again WednesdayWainwright allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk over 4.2 innings in a Grapefruit League tie with the Astros on Wednesday. He struck out four.

ImpactThe veteran right-hander entered Wednesday's start with three brilliant Grapefruit League outings already under his belt, so the two runs he allowed in the fourth and fifth innings were actually an outlier for Wainwright this spring. Although he battled more adversity against Houston than in any of his first three trips to the mound, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports that may have been a blessing in disguise for the 39-year-old in terms of getting him battle tested. "More the same of Waino. He got tested a little bit more tonight, which is probably good to get out there and get out of the stretch more," manager Mike Shildt said.

MARCH 19, 2021•ROTOWIRE

Launches first spring homerGoldschmidt 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in a Grapefruit League tie with the Astros on Wednesday.

ImpactThe veteran slugger launched his first round tripper of spring off Astros starter Bryan Abreu to give the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. The blast was Goldschmidt's sixth hit of spring and second of the extra-base variety. The 33-year-old is set to likely operate out of the No. 2 or No. 3 hole in the lineup most days during the coming season, with offseason acquisition Nolan Arenado, who's expected to hit directly behind him, offering him an invaluable level of protection that Goldschmidt didn't enjoy in his first two Cardinals campaigns.

MARCH 19, 2021•ROTOWIRE

Lester pitches 2 innings, returns from gland removal surgery

Jon Lester was back on a mound, wearing a Washington Nationals uniform while facing opposing batters for the first time in spring training and striking out a couple during his two...

MARCH 18, 2021•ASSOCIATED PRESS

Injury updates on Mikolas (arm), Kim (back)The Cardinals continue to receive some good news on the pitching front, as Kwang Hyun Kim and Miles Mikolas took steps forward on Wednesday...

MARCH 18, 2021•MLB.COM

Throws side sessionKim (back) threw a side session Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

ImpactKim increased his throwing distance to begin the week and was able to throw Wednesday. Manager Mike Shildt said that Kim's side session was more aggressive than initially planned, and he sounded pleased with the southpaw's rehab progress. Kim will throw a simulated game as the next step in his recovery and should continue to progress after that. Since Kim has had a relatively brief absence due to his back tightness, he could still have a chance at ramping up in time for Opening Day.

MARCH 18, 2021•ROTOWIRE