Cards Rusty in First Game, Lose To Mets 17-11

The Cardinals played its first game yesterday, and it showed. After months away from the diamond, the team struggled to settle in during a 17-11 loss to the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie. The Cards walked 10 batters and made two errors to contribute to the Mets high-scoring attack. David Wright started the fun with a homer in the first to put the Mets up 3-0. After a Ryan Ludwick blast later, the Cards led 6-4. It was a sloppy back-and-forth contest that can be expected in the early days of Spring.

While some of the Mets starters were sprinkled throughout the lineup, the Cards big guns stayed back in Jupiter to work out again. Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Yadier Molina will all make their debuts today in a home game against the Mets, who will send a split-squad. The other half plays the Marlins. Brad Penny gets the nod for the Cards. His counterpart will be Fernando Nieve.

Lineups for today’s game:

Mets: CF Gary Matthews, Jr.; 2B Alex Cora; RF Jeff Francouer; 1B Mike Jacobs; 3B Fernando Tatis; LF Fernando Martinez; C Omir Santos; SS Ruben Tejada; DH Shawn Riggins.

Cardinals: 2B Julio Lugo; CF Colby Rasmus; 1B Albert Pujols; LF Matt Holliday; RF Ryan Ludwick; C Yadier Molina; 3B David Freese; DH Joe Mather; SS Tyler Greene

Remember that this is only Spring Training. It is about getting back into the swing of things for the players and preparing for the real season. The scorecard tells little to nothing about the team’s performance and progress heading into the summer.